The Story

Having nurtured a dream to seek freedom and build a life beyond oppression, not unlike that of America’s first settlers, abolitionist James Theodore Holly set sail for Haiti with 121 free African Americans. But unlike the myth of America’s founding, Holly was joining a nation that had already done the unthinkable: abolished slavery and established the world’s first Black democracy. Over a century later, his descendant, filmmaker Natalie Holly Purviance, blends 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 cost of true democracy.

"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-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.*

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.

*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 inspires 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.

The youngest of nine, Theodora Holly, born in Haiti in the late 19th century, was a champion of 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 The Negro World, writing and translating for Marcus Garvey’s movement. A founding member of the International Council of Women of the Darker Races, she promoted solidarity between Haitian and African American women, especially through education and couture arts.

*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.

“As democracy faces growing threats—from rising authoritarianism to voter suppression—The Radical Experiment of Haiti reminds us that freedom has always been contested. Haiti’s story is not just history—it’s a warning.”