Thank God Hurricane Matthew spared Jamaica its wrath, but we pray for Haiti which was battered to the bone and lost 1,000 lives. We pray for her continued strength and resilience when faced with devastating and catastrophic challenges. I have read many scripts about Haiti over my career and I’m still waiting for the script that delivers the majesty and magic that is Haiti.

The Birth of a Nation will open and it promises to deliver a hurricane of its own as it retells or, I believe, corrects the story of the Nat Turner slave revolt in America’s south during August of 1831. This took place 100 years after the first Maroon War in then British-run Jamaica where the slaves, realising their power in numbers, were victorious. Already film critics are comparing this controversial film to England’s Steve McQueen’s Academy Award-winning film12 Years a Slave, with many saying it’s not as powerful as 12 Years a Slave but pretty close.

So here’s the difference in the films.

In 12 Years a Slave, the black man and his woman were robbed of their freedom, beaten into submission where they grovelled in servitude and, in many instances, were killed for daring to speak up for themselves. This is a story that has been told and filmed repeatedly to ad nauseam.The Birth of a Nation flips the script and the slaves fight back. They form an army and go to war fighting for freedom, taking up arms against oppression and their oppressors. Now this is an untold story.

There is no triumphant white saviour here to make non-coloured viewers feel comfortable. This film is full of raw emotion with a passionate need to right the wrongs done to the legacy of those slaves who dared to fight for their own freedom. This is a story that had to be told and, as you look through the the prism of history, is right on time.

Whatever you do this weekend, go see and support this movie. Nate Parker’s story is his story. Nat Turner’s story is our story. Go see The Birth of a Nation.

* Sheryl Lee Ralph is an American actress, singer, and activist with Jamaican roots. She also originated the role of Deena Jones in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. Her website: SherylLeeRalph.com; twitter: @THESHERYLRALPH; and Instagram: @DIVA3482