Jean-Marie’s writing style is pretty dry/academic, but the content of the book is cool. The main argument is that the Haitian Revolution both disproved and actualized European Enlightenment ideals. Because the Enlightenment thinkers were so racist, they didn’t think a slave revolution was possible. But at the same time, people like Kant and Hegel were interested in the freedom that the revolution in Haiti fought towards. In other words, Enlightenment thinkers believed all people deserved freedom, but they didn’t see Black people as human.

The other main point Jean-Marie brings in is community created by enslaved people in Haiti via vodou. It started as a mix of African traditions that people remembered with some Catholic traditions. The resulting ideology brought people together, thus making them feel less foreign and out of place. That unity (in combination with patois) ultimately empowered them by giving them a sense of self.

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P.S. I have a book out that’s about dating as a single mother. It’s available here and here and in person if you’re located near me in New Jersey.