On today, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, KUOW played a “Speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1967, at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City” entitled Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence. The text quoted herein was obtained at Hartford World Publishing’s World History Archives.

The speech is a sensitive, thoughtful, and carefully reasoned indictment of the war in Vietnam. It is not dogmatic or impolitic. It does not cater to fear; rather, it calls on our higher selves, our sense of responsibility, fairness, and justice.

King opens with what called him to action: “I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice. I join with you in this meeting because I am in deepest agreement with the aims and work of the organization which has brought us together: Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam. The recent statement of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart and I found myself in full accord when I read its opening lines: "A time comes when silence is betrayal." That time has come for us in relation to Vietnam”

He then explains his seven reasons for protesting the war in Vietnam, which I will only briefly summarize here: 1. The war pulls away resources that would otherwise go to help the poor in the US. 2. It manipulates the poor at home by sending the races to die together who are not allowed to live together in a segregated society. 3. It undermines the message that social change can be brought about by peaceful means. 4. The war in Vietnam poisons the soul of America, and those who care about America must therefore protest. 5. King’s winning of the Nobel Prize for Peace earlier that year was “a commission to work harder than I had ever worked before for ‘the brotherhood of man.’” 6. And anyway, he says, even if he hadn’t won the Nobel Prize, it’s a Christian value to promote peace, to love and care for all men. 7. Finally, it is King’s calling to speak out in brotherhood for those who are “suffering and helpless.”

King then lays out a history of Vietnam’s struggles and the US’s involvement as early as 1945. He does so in the name of understanding the thought processes behind our so-called enemy. He goes to great pains to make clear that he does not condone the violent tactics of the Vietnamese. He attempts not to speak as their apologist, but to understand their side of the equation.

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From Silencing the Past - Power and the Production of History, by Michel-Rolph Trouillot, p 25: “For what history is changes with time and place or, better said, history reveals itself only through the production of specific narratives. What matters most are the process and conditions of production of such narratives. Only a focus on that process can uncover the ways in which the two sides of historicity intertwine in a particular context. Only through that overlap can we discover the differential exercise of power that makes some narratives possible and silences others.”

Trouillot is describing a theory of history much like the philosophy of art. In art, one learns that the negative spaces have value; what is left out describes the ultimate image as much as the impressions that the artist leaves. Trouillot is arguing that the same holds for historical silences, and that if we can understand the reasons such silences show up in a particular historical narrative, we’ll gain insight into the complete history. Indeed, he seems to be saying that one cannot consider history without considering the silences also.

On page 26, Trouillot writes: “Silences enter the process of historical production at four crucial moments: the moment of fact creation (the making of sources); the moment of fact assembly (the making of archives); the moment of fact retrieval (the making of narratives); and the moment of retrospective significance (the making of history in the final instance).”

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Just finished reading all 250 posts to the Haiti newsgroup since I joined at the beginning of the year. Whew! My brain is on overload right now and I’m still sifting through my thoughts, but here are a few observations: It is striking how different reports of the same event can vary so widely. Of course, this is rather obvious, but I think this is the first time I’ve read about the same event - the Haitian Independence celebration of jan 1, in this case - covered by so many sources.

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I’m reading from Henry Adams’ “The history of the United States of America during the Administrations of Jefferson and Madison.” Zounds! In this he declares that the Spaniard Godoy, by refusing to relinquish the Louisiana Territory upon discovering he had been duped, had as much influence as the revolt in Haiti on Napoleon’s decision to sell the territory. The details in Adam’s book are sketchy but tantalizing.

The question of Louverture and Haiti’s role in US history is key as I move forward with this project. I suspect that my grandfather made a little much of the revolution’s importance on Napoleon’s decision to sell the LA Territory. If events in Haiti can be established as having had a profound impact on that transaction, then the focus of whatever story emerges should rightly focus on that fact. If not, then I’ll be able to keep the story in Haiti and not have to explain French and American history in addition to Haitian.

[Just noticed this from the General Editor’s Preface to Adams: “The books in this series were designed for reading, not research. All documentation has, therefore, been eliminated.” Then, from the book editor’s introduction: “Only a few of the high points of the History could be represented here...” This is an abridged edition. Time to find a new volume of Adams.]

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Did a lot of reading today about the Louisiana Purchase. I have some notes that I'll post tomorrow. I finally felt like I was getting in to the flow of research today. I've been using StickyBrain for note takikng for the past few days. It's really useful in that it lets me capture thoughts on the fly. I like that I can display one category of notes at a time and make new notes in that category.

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Monday, December 22, 2003 - O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL Despite a threat level of Orange, a rush-hour commute, and a vacation travel crunch, I have sailed past the checkpoints and arrived at the closest Starbucks to gate E9 two hours and 30 minutes ahead of takeoff. I would like to have stayed longer with my family at Uncle Eric's house rather than leaving early to anticipate the delays, but until they invent crystal balls that actually work worth a damn, you pays your money and you takes your chances.

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Louise and I left Seattle at about 4:30 on December 16th, 2003, just in time to hit major traffic. We got to Vancouver at 8:30. Just before we got to the border crossing, my dad called and said that Aunt Mary is very sick and will likely die either Wednesday or Thursday. I’m terribly sad about this, but we’re determined not to let it ruin our trip. There’s nothing to be done.

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This is an intriguing idea - that the meta-meaning of the revolution was less about freedom than about land. According to Carolyn Fick, freedom to the slaves in Haiti was meaningless without land ownership. Ironic, then, that the Louisiana purchase opened up just that possibility for millions of American citizens. Read more of Corbett's site today. The guy has done an amazing amount of research on Haiti. Came across some good books (including the Fick book).

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Toussaint made a fatal error in not confiding his plans in his generals. His weaknesses seem to include love of white culture and breeding, disdain for uneducated blacks, and isolation. Had he taken Moyse and Dessalines, for instance, into his confidence, had he educated them about the reasons behind his policies, they might have been loyal allies instead of undermining his policies. It seems that Toussaint fell victim to the same sort of inertia that ensnares the greatest of men: the belief that what got you here will get you there.

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Sometimes I can hardly believe that Toussaint accomplished what he did. His growth as a leader is nothing short of extraordinary. Once the Negroes had begun their revolt, once they had been armed and given hope, returning them to slavery would have been impossible. Toussaint must have seen that halting the revolution was impossible. He was like a surfer on a wave of change, clever and bold enough to stay just a few steps ahead and win important military and economic victories.

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