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Within Haiti’s long history lies promise for its future

January 19, 2012 by Manolia Charlotin, Editor

Author Laurent DuboisAuthor Laurent DuboisHistorian Laurent Dubois’ latest novel Haiti: The Aftershocks of History provides a rich narrative of the island’s long history, with a particular focus on the 19th and early 20th century. Dubois, a professor of Romance Studies and History at Duke University, is the author of the critically acclaimed Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution.

What sets Aftershocks apart from many recent historical narratives is not only the periods covered, but the extensive use of materials from Haitian scholars including luminaries such as Thomas Madiou, Roger Gaillard, Anténor Firmin, Dantès Bellegarde and Georges Anglade (to whom the book was dedicated).

The Boston Haitian Reporter recently connected with Dubois for an interview: Read more

Anténor Firmin’s work resonates at NAACP centennial

October 12, 2011 by Manolia Charlotin, Editor

Anténor Firmin: Photo published by the Public ArchiveAnténor Firmin: Photo published by the Public ArchiveLast month was the 100th anniversary of the death of Haitian scholar Joseph Auguste Anténor Firmin. Anténor Firmin is best known for his seminal work De l’Égalité des Races Humaines (The Equality of Human Races), which was published in 1885 as a response to French writer Count Arthur de Gobineau’s work Essai sur l’inegalite des Races Humaines (Essay on the Inequality of Human Races). Gobineau’s book asserted the superiority of the Aryan race and the inferiority of blacks and other people of color.

Firmin argued the opposite – that “all men are endowed with the same qualities and the same faults, without distinction
of color or anatomical form. The races are equal.” He pioneered the integration of race and physical anthropology and is now considered by many as one of the fathers of anthropology and the first Black anthropologist. Read more

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