For Haitian-American entrepreneur Guerline Emmanuel, understanding where we come from is inseparable from understanding who we are. That belief has shaped her work for years, first through Belle Vue Tours, the travel company she built with her husband, Hogarth, around cultural and historical experiences in Haiti, and now through an ambitious new journey that will take travelers across Africa, Europe and Haiti.
Haitian-American entrepreneur Guerline Emmanuel (contributed photo)The Legacy Tour: Three Continents, One Story is designed to connect the histories of Africa, Europe, Haiti and the wider Caribbean, allowing travelers to follow those connections through the places where they unfolded. The first leg of the journey, in Africa, is scheduled for July 22 to August 5, 2027, followed by Europe in March and April 2028 and Haiti in December 2028 and January 2029. Travelers can participate in the complete journey or join individual portions.
For Emmanuel, the project represents the next chapter of work that began with her own relationship with Haiti.
Learning to See Haiti Differently
Born in Haiti and brought to the United States at eight, Emmanuel remained closely connected to her homeland. Her father played a particularly important role in keeping Haitian history and culture present in her life. She retained her Kreyòl and was exposed to Haitian music, plays, football and history, experiences that eventually fueled a desire to understand more about the country that had shaped her childhood.
Returning to Haiti as an adult deepened that curiosity. Emmanuel began to see the importance of experiencing the country for herself rather than relying solely on the narratives surrounding it.
That became especially clear after the 2004 coup, when she returned to Haiti and was struck by the contrast between what she was experiencing there and what she was hearing and seeing in the United States. The experience prompted her to question how narratives are created, who controls them and how they influence the way countries and their people are understood.
Her response was to learn more and to create opportunities for others to do the same.
Belle Vue Tours (contributed photo)
Belle Vue Tours emerged from that process. Emmanuel and Hogarth began by taking family members to Haiti and exploring different parts of the country, eventually developing relationships with local business owners and partners who could help them create experiences that went beyond conventional tourism.
The objective was not simply to bring people to Haiti, but to help them encounter the country through its history, culture and people.
When Haiti's Story Became Bigger
That work eventually led Emmanuel beyond Haiti.
In 2023, Belle Vue Tours undertook a project in South Africa to commemorate 18 Haitian heroines and heroes recognized on the Wall of Names at Freedom Park. The experience prompted Emmanuel to consider Haiti's history within the much broader context of Africa and the diaspora.
“After our South Africa experience, we realized that the story of Haiti was not complete, we had a much bigger mission,” she said.
The Legacy Tour grew from that realization. Rather than treating Africa, Europe and Haiti as separate destinations, Emmanuel wanted to create a journey that would allow travelers to see the connections among them.
Following the Story Across Three Continents
The journey begins in Africa, with an emphasis on the thousands of years of African history, culture and civilization that existed before the transatlantic slave trade.
“The tour is also around the thousand of years of our people having a history, culture and life way before the interruption of the transatlantic slave trade,” Emmanuel said.
From Africa, the tour moves to Europe, exploring the empires and institutions connected to the transatlantic slave trade and the systems that linked Europe, Africa and the Americas.
The final stage brings travelers to Haiti, where they will explore places associated with the Haitian Revolution and the establishment of Haiti as an independent nation in 1804. For Emmanuel, Haiti's history has significance far beyond the island because the revolution challenged slavery and colonialism and became a defining moment in the history of Black resistance and freedom.
The tour will incorporate historic sites, museums, archives, memorials and other locations, along with opportunities to learn from historians, cultural custodians and local knowledge keepers.
Why the Journey Matters
Emmanuel believes there is something that happens when history is encountered in the places where it actually unfolded.
“I believe physically experiencing these places creates a connection to history that you simply cannot get from reading about it,” she said.
She has witnessed those moments through Belle Vue Tours in Haiti, including among African Americans, Belizeans, Jamaicans and Grenadians who have recognized connections between their own histories and Haiti's revolutionary past.
One such moment came at Palais Sans-Souci, built by the formerly enslaved Henry Christophe, who was transported to Saint-Domingue, present-day Haiti, from Grenada. Watching Grenadian travelers encounter the site brought home to Emmanuel how intertwined Caribbean histories can be.
Those connections are central to what she hopes travelers will discover through The Legacy Tour. Emmanuel believes that although Caribbean people come from different islands and communities, their histories have been shaped by shared forces and by ancestors who carried knowledge, traditions, beliefs, skills and creativity through extraordinary circumstances.
“Our story is not just one of displacement. It is also a story of fusion, creation, and the remarkable cultures we built from the many threads of who we are.”
Taking Ownership of the Legacy
The Legacy Tour is also part of Emmanuel's broader effort to keep history visible and encourage people in the diaspora to take ownership of the stories that have shaped them.
That work extends through BVstylez, her lifestyle brand, including the Liberators collection, which features the names of Haitian women and men who played important roles in the Haitian Revolution. Emmanuel created the collection to bring these stories into everyday life, turning functional items into reminders of the people who fought for freedom and helping ensure their contributions remain part of contemporary conversations.
For Emmanuel, preserving these stories is connected to responsibility.
“I believe my larger purpose is to take responsibility for my country, honor my ancestors’ legacy, and add to what they left us,” she said.
That philosophy is at the heart of The Legacy Tour. By taking travelers from Africa through Europe and ultimately to Haiti, Emmanuel hopes to give people throughout the diaspora an opportunity to encounter a history that is not distant or disconnected from them, but part of the story they inherited.
For those who make the journey, she hopes they will return with a deeper understanding of where they come from, a greater appreciation of the connections that link Africa, Haiti and the Caribbean, and a renewed sense of responsibility for carrying that history forward.
