Reviews
"Most works on Haiti tend to focus either on the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) or the more recent era of Jean Bertrand Aristide (1991-2004), and specifically the US-supported coup in 2004. In excluding these two seismic eras, Polyne (NYU) tells a more important story of the forging and gradual weakening of ties between US African Americans and Haitians. Impressive temporally and thematically, well researched, and destined to be an important work."
--Choice, vol. 48 n.4
"Whether or not the catastrophic events of 2010, which included a massive outpouring of support from US African Americans in various domains, will inspire a return to the Black Pan-American vision of the twentieth century remains to be seen. The tension between Haitian realities and the US imagination nonetheless lingers. The great value of Polyné's work is that it provides the reader with a much-needed sense of how this tension has operated in the relationship between US African Americans and Haitians."
"A sober reminder that the quest for inter-American support for Haitian improvement has a long and chequered history."
--Social and Economic Studies
"Widens our understanding of the Americas for the discipline of American Studies and paves the way for new and stimulating discussions in the fields of history and African American and Haitian studies. [Polyné] has ignited a welcome and relevant debate about the concept and practice of black Pan-Americanism, which should be applied to all parts of the Americas. The book is a strong addition to hemispheric American Studies."
--The Americas 69:3
"A most welcome addition to several fields, including Haiti-U.S. relations, foreign policy, and transnational studies...with the work, the myth of Pan American architects back into the pages of history."
--American Studies Journal
“Adds a new perspective on the on-going engagement of African-descended people in global politics in the decades after emancipation”
--Journal of African American History