It was the only successful slave insurrection in history. It grasped the full meaning of French revolutionary ideas and used them to create the world's first Black republic. It elevated a Black general, Toussaint Louverture, to such international fame that admirers ranked him on par with George Washington. It was the Haitian Revolution, a movement that's been called the true birth moment of universal human rights. Vaguely remembered today, the Haitian Revolution was a hurricane at the turn of the 19th century -- traumatizing Southern planters and inspiring U.S. slaves. This program explores this history through music, voodoo ritual, re-creations and insightful writers and historians.
