In 1903, the Haitian historian Jules Rosemond argued in preparation for the centenary of Haitian independence that Jean-Jacques Dessalines was born on September 20, 1758, and today we commemorate the life of this leader of the Haitian Revolution.

LISTEN: The Migrant’s Jail author @briannanofil.bsky.social spoke with @npr.org’s Throughline podcast about the history of migrant detention in the US:

I got to talk to @npr.org about sheriffs, jails, and all the ways people have made money from locking up migrants. (Featuring many stories from my book!)

@juliagaffield.bsky.social joins us to share her new book I Have Avenged America ⬇️ @womenknowhistory.bsky.social @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social @yalepress.bsky.social #BookSky #HistorySky #EduSky podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

"The Business of Migrant Detention" on @npr.org's Throughline featuring my colleague @briannanofil.bsky.social talking about her book The Migrant's Jail: An American History of Mass Incarceration (@princetonupress.bsky.social) www.npr.org/2025/09/18/n...

Join the #Slaveryarchive book club next Saturday, September 20, 2:00 PM EST to discuss @juliagaffield.bsky.social's new brilliant book I Have Avenged America: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti's Fight for Freedom (Yale University Press, 2025), register here us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

"By weaving together rich context and the personal experiences of Christophe and Dessalines, I put down these books with a much better understanding of the Haitian Revolution." Review essay by @bramhubbell.com for @liberatingnarratives.com

I went on the Virginia Humanities show "With Good Reason" to talk about the Haitian Revolution: withgoodreasonradio.org/episode/lafa...

Same 🫠

@juliagaffield.bsky.social is doing a zoom book talk in a few weeks on a Saturday if you want to go!

Finishing up these two new excellent books.

Sighting of long-awaited @csschmitt.bsky.social volume!

Happy (early) Pub Day, @csschmitt.bsky.social! Can't wait to read it!

Marlene Daut's _The First and Last King of Haiti_ is on the shortlist for the Cundill Prize! The book is an excellent biography, a compelling narration of the Haitian Revolution, and a brilliant meditation on historical methodology! www.cundillprize.com/news/2025sho...

Today is the UK pub date for my book _I Have Avenged America: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti’s Fight for Freedom_ (@yalebooks.bsky.social‬)! yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...

Did I buy this book in part because the cover looks so awesome (maaaaybe) but I just finished it and liked it a lot. The early years of his life and how plantation slavery worked in Haiti was especially interesting. Plus the round up of how Dessalines has been portrayed was helpful

Once 4 billion chestnut trees spanned most of the Eastern US, before a blight destroyed them. Restoration efforts began in 1985, with story-telling as a key component. It's the most far reaching example of trees in public history in a new essay collection: 1/x barnraisingmedia.com/the-trees-at...

The most successful slave revolt in history, wherein the enslaved took back their freedom themselves

Devoured this, great book!

“Eternal hatred of France!” That one also sticks out in mind.

And the white world lost its mind, never for it to be found again. Still, worth it. Liberté ou la Mort!!

234 years ago, enslaved men and women rose in revolution in the French colony of Saint-Domingue. They secured the first permanent abolition of slavery, and eventually declared Haitian independence on January 1, 1804. 🇭🇹 www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020...

A nice cocktail to celebrate the end of a long road! 🗃️

i remember when jd vance blamed the haitian immigrants to springfield for rising home prices. well, the prices will come down, because a mass departure of haitian workers will crash the local economy.

A wonderfully provocative piece from @audreywatters.bsky.social on LLMs as MLM schemes. 2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/llm-as-mlm/?...

New from Marlene Daut on writing a Haitian Revolution screenplay! marlenedaut.com/blog/adventu...

Gaffield's work is necessary. I'm grateful she put in the work so we have such a high-quality book on Dessalines. A must-read.

The reputation of Haiti’s founder, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, has been tarnished by often racist misconceptions and misinterpretations. Julia Gaffield’s new book seeks to correct the record and situate his pivotal role in the transatlantic abolitionist movement:

New at PB, Marlene L. Daut interviews @juliagaffield.bsky.social about her new book on Haiti’s founder, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a figure who has been “unjustly maligned in historical narratives & overshadowed by more popular figures such as Toussaint Louverture.”

ICYMI: When Trump maliciously demonized Haitian immigrants last year, he was only the latest to malign those from the true birthplace of freedom from slavery. A new biography of Jean-Jacque Dessalines by @juliagaffield.bsky.social illuminates how it all began. My @liberalcurrents.com interview:

Here’s another brilliant historical biography — Prof Marlene Daut was our expert guest on BBC You’re Dead To Me for our Haitian Revolution episode. In this new book, she explores the notorious life of King Henri Christophe of Haiti, and finds a much more complicated story

This interview is great! @juliagaffield.bsky.social's book was already on my TBR list but it's still a joy to read about the research that's behind the recontextualization of this important historical figure.

Liberalism ENABLED the end of slavery, but did not drive it. Slaves themselves ended slavery & Haiti was founded as a result. A new biography by @juliagaffield.bsky.social tells the story of Jean-Jacque Dessalines, who France demonized in revenge. My @liberalcurrents.com interview:

Great interview with @juliagaffield.bsky.social on and around her new biography of Dessalines. Looking forward to reading!

Loved this book so I’m looking forward to the interview?

From the interview with Julia Gaffield, author of “I Have Avenged America: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti’s Fight for Freedom.” Which I now have to read.

“As the “rules-based” liberal international order that America did so much to put in place now crumbles at that same nation’s hand, liberal democracy is in deep trouble across the globe. In part that’s because the contradictions Haiti’s revolution exposed so long ago have never really been resolved”

Way back in November, @unlawfulentries.bsky.social tagged @paulrosenberg.bsky.social in a reply to one of my posts and got this whole interview started! Name a more generous scholar on socials than Prof. Law... I'll wait.

"His life—and Haiti's very existence—exposed the lie in Enlightenment values that celebrated universal rights while excluding Black people and expanding slavery." — @juliagaffield.bsky.social on Dessalines. We misrepresent Haiti to this day as the flipside of misrepresenting ourselves:

Very grateful to have had the chance to talk with @paulrosenberg.bsky.social for @liberalcurrents.com about my new biography of Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Available now with @yalepress.bsky.social yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...

"Thomas Jefferson—who refused to recognize Haiti’s independence—still holds a place of honor in the liberal political canon, while Jean-Jacque Dessalines, responsible for Haiti’s Declaration, is a virtual non-person—if not a pariah." www.liberalcurrents.com/desallines-a...

Congrats to these authors, but especially to Marlene Daut! 😃 The First and Last King of Haiti is such a good book!! www.cundillprize.com/news/the-202...

I have an autographed copy of @juliagaffield.bsky.social's amazing new book I Have Avenged America, which we will be discussing at the #Slaveryarchive book club on September 20, Saturday, 2:00 PM EST. Go to www.slaveryarchive.com/book-club/20... and register now!

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Join us on September 20, 2025, Saturday, 2:00 PM EST to discuss historian @juliagaffield.bsky.social's new book I Have Avenged America, get the book here yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300... and REGISTER here us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Little Haiti is vibrant. And it’s facing the same cost of living crisis as neighborhoods across the city. That's why Brooklyn Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and I are bringing the Democratic Party together around a shared vision for an affordable New York. I am grateful for her endorsement!

the singular message of this ad is "zohran loves new york city" and it is incredibly effective