One of the most detrimental lessons to come from the Haitian Revolution was that a free black man is an oxymoron in white supremacy ideology. The response of the United States to the Haitian Revolution and its leaders indicated that the greatest threat to white supremacy ideology is a free black man; a safe black man is either enslaved or incarcerated.

The Haitian Revolution more than any other event created the black man as a savage and demon. This image and narrative became especially prominent in the United States. Enslavers in the United States believed that if the enslaved were ever freed, the “horrors of St. Domingue” would be repeated. The fear of white genocide in the United States was a low possibility, however, because the ratio of enslaved in the United States and Haiti was not comparable.

Blacks killing whites in pursuit of their freedom was a cardinal sin. White supremacist beliefs held that blacks should be kept in their place at the bottom of the social hierarchy; that they only deserved enslavement, and had no right to seek freedom, especially not to kill whites in this pursuit.

The rage produced by free black men engaging in the same actions as white men produced a need to create the black male demon. Prior to the Haitian Revolution, black men were regarded as inferiors with less-than-human traits. The image of enslaved black men was that of a grinning creature in a subservient posture. The narrative described him as childlike, happy, content, irresponsible, and loyal.

After the Haitian Revolution, a new image and narrative were created of the black man as more animal than human. The new image was animal-like in appearance, a monstrous beast, crazed with lust. The narrative was that of a savage, dangerous, destructive, criminal, rapist, violent demon.

The Haitian Revolution created an intense fear and enraged anger among enslavers in the United States. First, there was disbelief that non-humans with inferior intelligence, childlike, dependent, and subservient could conceive of and defeat a superior white nation. There was the fear of possible rebellion, especially after Gabriel’s rebellion in Virginia in 1805. However, the fear extended and focused on free blacks as well.

In order to control the beliefs and perceptions of whites, the fear of free blacks became the tool. The narrative of free black men as demons was created. According to Jordan (1974), there was mounting hostility toward free blacks with increasing restrictions upon them. Most critical, however, was not the actual fear of black uprisings but the loss of the firm sense of control or dominion over the black males. White supremacy ideology could not surrender control of black males and used the image and narrative of the black male demon to punish this repudiation of white superiority.

The narrative created and repeated by the white supremacy ideologists became a powerful tool to manipulate the minds of whites. This fear of the free black male demon in power was prevalent during Reconstruction; as a result, Black Codes and lynching became prevalent as means to control the black male. This fear even influenced the wording of the 13th Amendment, whereas enslavement could still be used as punishment. Safety from the threat of the black male demon could only come from violence toward or elimination of the black male.

The image and narration of the savage, bestial, Haitian from over 200 years ago has been ascribed to black males in the United States today and has made race-based violence against black men, from lynching to outright murder, permissible, rationalized, and justified.

The evolution of the black man as demon has impacted black men more adversely in the United States criminal justice system than any other demographic at every stage of the process. Davis (2018) reports that black men are 2.5 times more likely to be arrested than whites; subjected to racial profiling; and 21 times more likely to be killed by police than white men. The fear narrative functions even in the minds of ppolice officersas they say they feel threatened by black men. Approximately 35 percent of the U.S. prison population is black. According to Alexander (2012), at the end of 2009, the number of black men in the criminal justice system equaled the number enslaved in 1850.

This artificial fear psychosis created by white supremacy ideology has maintained and perpetuated a fear of black men for over 200 years. From the Scottsboro Boys to the Central Park 5, this fear narrative and its propaganda have denied innocent black men falsely accused of crimes equal justice. A critical lesson from Haiti is that the white supremacy ideology will create and perpetuate a narrative of black men as demons as a tool to deny them full freedom, justice, and equality.