Fear of a Black Republic
Haiti and the Birth of Black Internationalism in the United States
How Haitian independence influenced Black struggle in the early nineteenth century
Cloth – $125
978-0-252-04481-6
Paper – $27.95
978-0-252-08690-8
eBook – $14.95
978-0-252-05386-3
Publication Date
Paperback: 12/27/2022
Cloth: 12/27/2022
Cloth: 12/27/2022
Series: Black Internationalism
About the Book
The emergence of Haiti as a sovereign Black nation lit a beacon of hope for Black people throughout the African diaspora. Leslie M. Alexander’s study reveals the untold story of how free and enslaved Black people in the United States defended the young Caribbean nation from forces intent on maintaining slavery and white supremacy. Concentrating on Haiti’s place in the history of Black internationalism, Alexander illuminates the ways Haitian independence influenced Black thought and action in the United States. As she shows, Haiti embodied what whites feared most: Black revolution and Black victory. Thus inspired, Black activists in the United States embraced a common identity with Haiti’s people, forging the idea of a united struggle that merged the destinies of Haiti with their own striving for freedom.A bold exploration of Black internationalism’s origins, Fear of a Black Republic links the Haitian revolution to the global Black pursuit of liberation, justice, and social equality.
About the Author
Leslie M. Alexander is the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of History at Rutgers University. She is the author of African or American? Black Identity and Political Activism in New York City, 1784–1861 and coeditor of Ideas in Unexpected Places: Reimagining Black Intellectual History.Also by this author
Reviews
"In this clear and impeccably researched volume, historian Leslie M. Alexander explores the imperative role Haiti and the Haitian Revolution played in the growth of Black internationalism, sovereignty and freedom. " --Ms. MagazineBlurbs
“An impressive feat of scholarly research, unremitting in its focus on Black discourses and activities, as recorded in African American serial publications and institutions. The book luminously chronicles the hopes and dreams, the aspirations and yearnings, that United States Black folk invested in the Haitian Revolution and what it wrought, the sovereign state of Haiti.”--Michael O. West, author of From Toussaint to Tupac: The Black International since the Age of Revolution
Awards
• Honorary Mention, Haiti Book Prize, Haitian Studies Association, 2023• Winner, Pauli Murray Book Prize, African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS), 2023
Supplemental Links
Listen to an interview with the author on the Neg Mawon PodcastListen to an interview with the author on A Word with Jason JohnsonRead a Q&A with the authorListen to an interview with the author on the New Books NetworkListen to an interview with the author on This Week in Black History and Society podcastRelated Titles
