BIG REVEAL

I thank Marlene Daut for her July 16 oped, “France pulled off one of the greatest heists in history, and left Haiti perpetually impoverished.” She educated readers on a largely unknown part of Haiti’s history. What a disgrace that France forced these formerly enslaved people to pay their enslavers millions of francs to compensate for lost revenue.

Economist Thomas Piketty estimates that France should repay at least $28 billion to Haiti in restitution.

In a similar vein, by learning about the largely buried history of the outrageous treatment of Blacks and Native people in the United States, we can better understand their plight today.

Call it critical race theory or use whatever term those who wish to keep our disgraceful history a secret, but bringing to light little-known facts can only help to improve race relations in our country.

– Marilyn Himmel,

Miami