#DSBC- An Inslandwide Struggle for Freedom

Join us to discuss "An Inslandwide Struggle for Freedom"

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Reinterpreting the Haitian Revolution as both an islandwide and a circum-Caribbean phenomenon, Graham Nessler examines the intertwined histories of Saint-Domingue, the French colony that became Haiti, and Santo Domingo, the Spanish colony that became the Dominican Republic. Tracing conflicts over the terms and boundaries of territory, liberty, and citizenship that transpired in the two colonies that shared one island, Nessler argues that the territories' borders and governance were often unclear and mutually influential during a tumultuous period that witnessed emancipation in Saint-Domingue and reenslavement in Santo Domingo.  Nessler aligns the better-known history of the French side with a full investigation and interpretation of events on the Spanish side, articulating the importance of Santo Domingo in the conflicts that reshaped the political terrain of the Atlantic world. Nessler also analyzes the strategies employed by those claimed as slaves in both colonies to gain liberty and equal citizenship. In doing so, he reveals what was at stake for slaves and free nonwhites in their uses of colonial legal systems and how their understanding of legal matters affected the colonies' relationships with each other and with the French and Spanish metropoles.

About the facilitator: 

Remysell was born and raised in New York City specifically in the Borough of the Bronx. He is a professor for the Department of Ethnic and Race Studies, where he lectures courses on Caribbean politics, the Dominican identity, and history. He is also a devoted community activist.

In the past, he was a Co-Author for the “Dictionary of the Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biographies”-W.E.B Dubois Research Institute at Harvard University. He has worked on the Biden and Harris Presidential Campaign as the Regional Voter Activation Director in Florida. Previously, he represented City Hall as the Manhattan Director for the New York City Mayor’s Office, where he managed initiatives and policies for Northern Manhattan and the Dominican community. Also, he has provided in-depth Policy analysis and advanced solutions for the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) in the Division of Strategic Planning and Policy. Further, he helped organize various elections in New York City and abroad with the Office of the Prime Minister of Norway.

He received a Master of Philosophy degree in Comparative and International Education from the University of Oslo (in Norway), a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University at Albany – SUNY, and completed a graduate political program from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.