Traoré’s 2017 film reminds us that the border itself is a problematic institution. Even in its most stripped-down form, a border exists for the exercise of power against those populations whose movements it controls. Who crosses—and at what cost—depends on lines of race, class, and gender.
Toussaint Louverture is celebrated by some as a saint worthy of his namesake. Recent work by historian Philippe Girard paints a less saintly portrait of this seminal figure of the Haitian Revolution.