In partnership with the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, WHYY invites you to a dynamic conversation at the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Set against a new exhibition on the Haitian and French Revolutions, this program brings historians and community members together to examine how these transformative movements reshaped notions of freedom, citizenship, and belonging 250 years ago—and continue to resonate today.
The evening will feature engaging dialogue, a live Haitian musical performance, and guided tours of the exhibition’s rare artifacts. Together, we’ll reflect on how the meaning of “We the People” has been contested, expanded, and reimagined across time.
While the Declaration of Independence boldly spoke in the name of “the people,” it simultaneously excluded Indigenous Americans and enslaved Africans—drawing lines of belonging that would influence American law, culture, and power for generations. Yet within those same words lay a powerful tool: a language of liberty that marginalized communities would use to challenge exclusion and demand their rightful place in the nation.
This compelling community convening explores how revolutionary ideals traveled far beyond America’s borders—most notably to Haiti, where enslaved Africans launched a historic uprising against French colonial rule. Beginning in 1791 and led by Toussaint L’Ouverture, the Haitian Revolution resulted in the first free Black republic in the Western Hemisphere. As Haitian refugees arrived in Philadelphia, their presence challenged Americans to confront the contradictions between their ideals and their realities.
This event is made possible with generous support from the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial.
