RE: https://mastodon.social/@yayaver/115543783053903396

Honoring C.L.R James - historian, revolutionary, intellectual giant, a pan-Africanist and cultural critic who connected the dots between history, politics, and culture, inspiring many. His legacy reminds us that history and culture are powerful tools in struggle for justice.

#BlackHistory #CLRJames

Explore cricket as more than a game—it's poetry, politics, and resistance in "Beyond A Boundary" by C.L.R. James. A compelling journey through Caribbean history and identity. 🏏📖

Read the detailed review here:

https://yayaver.blogspot.com/2025/10/book-review-beyond-boundary-clr-james.html

#BookReview #Postcolonialism #CricketAndCulture #CLRJames #CaribbeanHistory #SocialJustice #MarxistTheory #BlackHistory #Cricket
#Carribean

Today in Labor History August 22, 1791: Encouraged by the French and American revolutions, Toussaint Louverture led over 100,000 Haitian slaves in a revolt against the French. They were ultimately successful, making Haiti the first black republic in the world. The US refused recognition of Haiti until 1865, as a result of pressure from Southern slaveholders. The French demanded $21 billion In today’s dollars) in reparations for the losses to the former slaveholders, in exchange for peace and recognition of Haiti as an independent nation. The debt was financed through French banks and the U.S. bank, Citibank. The Haitians finally paid it off in 1947. However, the huge interest payments for their independence debt, and the debt incurred through the corruption of the Duvalier dynasty, have made Haiti one of the poorest nations in the western hemisphere. Prior to independence, Haiti was the richest and most productive of all of Europe’s colonies.

The best book I’ve read on the Haitian Revolution is “The Black Jacobins,” by Trinidadian socialist C.L.R. James. Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier explores the revolution in his novel, “The Kingdom of This World” (1949). You can read more about Toussaint Louverture and the slave uprising in Madison Smartt Bell’s trilogy called “All Souls' Rising” (1995) and Isabel Allende’s 2010 novel, “Island Beneath the Sea.”

#workingclass #LaborHistory #haiti #Revolution #jacobins #toussaintlouverture #slavery #colonialism #books #CLRJames #novel #fiction #author #writer #isabelallende #BlackMastadon @bookstadon

Today in Labor History May 19, 1989: Trinidadian Marxist historian and journalist C.L.R. James died. James was the author of The Black Jacobins (1938), Breaking a Boundary (1963), numerous articles and essays on class and race antagonism, West Indian self-determination, cricket, Marxism, & aesthetics. In 1933, he published the pamphlet The Case for West-Indian Self Government. He was a champion of Pan-Africanism and a member of the Friends of Ethiopia, an organization opposed to fascism and the Italian conquest of Ethiopia. He also wrote a play about the Haitian Revolution, Toussaint L’Ouverture, the Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History. Paul Robeson starred in the 1936 British production.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #CLRJames #marxism #trinidad #westindies #haiti #revolution #history #books #author #writing #BlackMastadon @bookstadon

Today in Labor History May 6, 1794: Toussaint L'Ouverture launched the Haitian revolution for independence against France. As a result of this revolution, the formerly enslaved people declared independence from France in 1804, making Haiti the first free black republic in the world. The U.S. refused to recognize Haiti for the next 70. France extracted millions in restitution, destroying any hope of ever moving out of deep poverty. The slave revolt against the French began in 1791 with the call by Dutty Boukman, a vodou priest. (For a really great history of the Haitian revolution, please see the Black Jacobins, by C. L. R. James)

#workingclass #LaborHistory #haiti #slavery #ToussaintLOuverture #boukman #blackjacobins #clrjames #books #author #writer #BlackMastadon @bookstadon