At the Haitian Embassy in Washington, Dr. Julia Gaffield Explores Dessalines’ Legacy as Abolitionist and Avenger

Dr. Julia Gaffield, historian and specialist in the Haitian Revolution, has released her latest book on Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Her deeply human portrait dismantles long-standing misconceptions, depicting the man in all his dimensions — the slave, the soldier, the war leader, the abolitionist, the statesman, and the diplomat. She shared excerpts from the book at the Embassy of Haiti in Washington, D.C., focusing on the man who sacrificed himself for Haiti’s independence and who, in her words, “avenged America.&rdqu