1804 The Hidden History of Haiti

From The Ramparts

Junious Ricardo Stanton

1804 The Hidden History of Haiti

On November 1st the excellent documentary 1804 The Hidden History of Haiti went on sale on a direct to consumer basis after limited nation wide screenings to introduce the film. 1804 was produced and directed by Tariq Nasheed the producer of the popular and successful Hidden Colors series of films which reveal suppressed African history and the world wide influence of Africa and Africans in antiquity. The film series also examines the functions of melanin, explains racism, global European domination and offers insights and solutions to overcome the oppression and menticide African people are subjected to on a daily basis.

1804 The Hidden History of Haiti is a comprehensive look at the history of the island originally called Ayiti (sacred high land) by its aboriginal Arawak/Taino inhabitants. The film documents the devastation and horrific conditions brought to the Caribbean by the murderous Europeans and reveals the origins of the courageous leaders of the liberation struggle that made Haiti the first free sovereign Black republic in the world to liberate itself from European colonial domination! The filmmakers present the whole history and struggle of Haiti from an African liberation point of view. It tells the cruel conditions, tortures and abuses the Europeans imposed on the indigenous peoples and the imported Africans who were brought to the island to provide the back breaking manual labor that made Hispaniola (the name Christopher Columbus gave the island) the richest “possession” of not only France but all the European colonies in the Western Hemisphere.

African centered researchers, scholars and activists share the true history and mindsets of Makandal, Boukman Dutty, Toussaint Louverture and Jean Jacques Dessalines the major male leaders of the liberation struggle who took on not only the French but also the Spanish and English in their quest for freedom. Director Tariq Nasheed uses enactors, flattering camera shots of the scholars, island scenery, ecology and explains the power of African spirituality (Vodun) as the catalyses of the African victories that sent shock waves throughout the slave holding Western world when the Africans defeated the European imperialists’ armies.

The film is shot in high definition which enhances the storytelling and imagery. The visuals and optics provide an attractive look for the speakers, actors and the beautiful landscape that depict Haiti and its history in an entirely new light, one that counters centuries of Western bias and lies. Scholars and activists: Mildred D. Mitchell, Akala Bayyinah Bello, Ezili Danto, Dr Kaba Kamene, Professor James Smalls, Dr Leonard Jeffries, Professor Gerald Horne, Wyclef and Tariq Nasheed provide insights and historical information about Haiti and the revolution that bring home and glorify the enormous significance of the Haitian victory; not just for the people of Haiti but for Africans world wide. Their information coupled with the eye-catching visuals gives the film depth and an emotional energy we don’t get in European productions because they are telling Ourstory.

The strategies and tactics of the Haitians are explained throughout the documentary and the film provides insights into the thinking of the leaders that offsets the distortions about Haiti, the revolution and Haitian people we get from European historiography and the Eurocentric narrative about the revolution.

The DVD, is available direct to consumer from the 1804Movie.com Website and Amazon. 1804 The Hidden History of Haiti is a must addition to your private media collection because it reveals long suppressed history and documents about what African people accomplished against overwhelming odds. It presents Haiti in a whole new light and destroys the myth of white superiority and invincibility. More importantly the film shares the means the Haitians employed to gain their sovereignty and independence and why the West maintains a vendetta against Haiti to this day! By the way these same tactics were used by the Maroons and the Quilombos of Palmares in Brazil to secure their freedom.

You can order the film at http://www.1804movie.com or through Amazon.

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