Haiti has been famous over the centuries for a number of reasons: most importantly for a slave rebellion that led to it winning independence from France in 1804. To this day the majority of the people in this Caribbean country are descended from those formally enslaved people. Sadly, in recent years the small country that shares the beautiful island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic has been cursed with bad leadership and natural disasters. Right now, it is in the news for lawlessness and violence that is resulting in the majority of Haitians living in fear.

Last July we had travel writer and author Paul Clammer as our speaker in the Virtual Branch speaking about Henry Christope, the Haitian Revolution and the Forgotten Kingdom. To remind people of the rich history and not just the horror of Haiti, we are making the talk open access for the next month.