Professor Tom Hawkins leads the audience through centuries of history, weaving powerful examples of Haitian art and literature with those of Ancient Greece and Rome. In doing so, he seeks to answer a profoundly important and complex question: What can we learn about Haiti through the lens of Greek and Roman classicism? From architecture to revolutions, ideologies, and legends, the answer is everywhere around us. Tom Hawkins takes inspiration from George Orwell's quip that who controls the past controls the future and applies that lesson to his work in the Classics Department at Ohio State. His recent teaching and scholarship have focused on intersections between the legacies of Greco-Roman antiquity and Caribbean cultures, especially in Haiti. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx