Demythologizing the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Introduction

• Romanticization often obscures the truth.
• Example: Middle Passage and transatlantic slave trade.
• Middle Passage: second leg of the transatlantic slave trade, from West Africa to North America, the Caribbean, and Brazil.
• High school education often glosses over the horrors of the trade.

Four Myths about the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Myth 1: All Africans Look Alike

• Personal anecdote: Assumed to be Jamaican due to dreadlocks.
• Africans on slave ships came from various ethnic groups:
  • Fulani
  • Ashante
  • Yoruba
  • Mandinga
• Different languages and cultures.
• African Americans and people of African descent are not a monolith.

Myth 2: Africans Chose to Come to America

• No indication Africans wanted to be slaves.
• Ancestors were forcibly taken from their communities.
• Example: 9-month-old baby on the ship Blackjack.
  • Brutalized and murdered by the captain, Marshall.
  • Baby beaten with a cat o' nine tails and killed.
  • Mother forced to throw baby overboard; refuses and is flogged.
• Most ancestors did not choose to come to America.

Myth 3: Africans in Diaspora Do Not Belong Here

• Contemporary issue: People of color told to "go back to their country."
• Black people have significantly contributed to American culture:
  • Built many buildings, universities like Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.
  • First 9 presidents of Princeton owned slaves.
  • First 13 U.S. presidents owned slaves.

Myth 4: The Middle Passage Was Not That Bad

• Slave ships were torture chambers.
• Suicide as resistance: Africans preferred death over slavery.
• Examples of brutality on slave ships:
  • Marlborough: 100 people thrown overboard due to insurrection.
  • Brillante: 600 chained to the anchor and drowned.
  • Kent: Captain brutalized, shot, hanged, and dismembered 49 people.
• Dr. Derek Bell: Triumph can be in resisting and martyrdom.
• Africans and African Americans have fought in every American war since 1619.
• Contributed economically, technologically, and spiritually to America’s growth.
• Unlike other immigrant groups, African Americans were brought involuntarily.

Conclusion

• The importance of understanding the true history and contribution of Africans brought to America.
• Share these truths with others.

Thank you for your attention.