Not unlike America’s earliest settlers,

abolitionist James Theodore Holly nurtured a dream of seeking freedom beyond the racial oppression of the U.S. in the 19th century. From childhood, he envisioned a new future that would eventually lead him to guide 121 free African Americans to Haiti just before the Civil War. He would be joining a nation that had accomplished the unthinkable: abolishing slavery and establishing the world’s first Black democracy. Over a century later, his descendant, filmmaker Natalie Holly Purviance, weaves archival excavation, magical realism, and personal narrative to retrace his journey and explore what it means to inherit a vision of justice — and how Haiti’s fate still warns us of the high cost of true democracy.

Young James Theodore Holly portrayed by Zion Emile. (photo credit, Arshley Emile)

Filmmaker, Natalie Holly Purviance. (photo credit, Arshley Emile)

"Democracy is not a guarantee.

It is a fragile experiment that demands constant defense, especially from those it was never meant to protect."

“I grew up with Haiti in my kitchen

—its language, rhythm, and longing. This film is my offering to a country I never stopped trying to understand. Through my great-great-great-grandfather’s dream and my own return, I’m asking how we carry forward a vision that the world once tried to kill.”

*Natalie Holly Purviance as a little girl in Haiti. (photo credit, Holly Family Archive)*

*Depiction of the Haitian Revolution (1791 - 1804)*

Two revolutions, two radically different outcomes.

America secured its freedom by enslaving others. Haiti won its freedom by ending slavery everywhere it touched. One nation rose to dominate the world. The other was made a warning. Haiti pushed the ideals of the American Revolution further than America ever dared. And for that, it was punished.

*Depiction of the American Revolution (1775 - 1783)*

*James Theodore Holly on the cover of The Crisis Magazine, published by sociologist, W.E.B. Dubois.*

Jamaican born activist and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL), Marcus Garvey,

James Theodore Holly inspired a movement.

Perhaps one of the most well-known African American emigrationists, Marcus Garvey revived and expanded James Theodore Holly’s vision, transforming the dream of Black emigration into a global Back to Africa movement for liberation, pride, and self-determination.

*Theodora Holly, daughter of James Theodore Holly.*

*Theodora Holly’s letter to W.E.B. Dubois ahead of a protest against the U.S. occupation of Haiti (1915 - 1934).*

James Theodore Holly passed down his legacy to his children.

Born in Haiti and the youngest of nine, Theodora Holly championed women’s rights and education. As an administrator in the Ministry of Education during the U.S. occupation of Haiti, she fought for access to schooling for girls and the poor. In a 1931 address, she urged Haitian women to engage in politics and social reform. Holly was also the French editor of Marcus Garvey’s The Negro World, writing and translating for his Back to Africa movement.

*Le Marron Inconnu de Port au Prince* is a bronze statue of a runaway slave, regarded as a symbol of black liberation commemorating the Haitian Revolution and the abolishment of slavery.

Excerpt from the poem “The New Colossus” by Jewish American writer and activist Emma Lazarus, who was inspired by the Statue of Liberty, a world-famous symbol of freedom, which was given to the United States in 1886 by France in celebration of American Independence.

“This is more than a story about Haiti. It’s a mirror for every nation grappling with who gets to belong, who gets to lead, and who democracy was really built for.”