Second Burial

African Diaspora, African literature, ancestors, burial ceremonies, descendants of slaves, ethnic studies, Middle Passage, transatlantic slave trade

Among several West African ethnic people, death does not immediately entitle a person the status of ancestor. Traditionally there is a space of time between physical burial, which is quick, and the ceremonial burial that requires an established ritual, after which an individual joins or becomes an ancestor to the community. Among the Igbo, even issues surrounding inheritance and property cannot be settled until the elaborate second burial is completed. Read More

Widening the Field

African American History, African Diaspora, captured Africans, Middle Passage, slave ports, slave ships, slavery, transatlantic slave trade

Recently, the Project was contacted by Jonathan Highfield, Professor of Postcolonial Studies at the Rhode Island School of Design’s (RISD) Department of Literary Arts and Studies, to explore the possibility of collaboration with us on Middle Passage history.  Fifteen members of his class, Dialogue across the Diaspora, will travel to South Africa to assist students at the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town to mount an Read More

Worthless or Priceless

African American History, African Diaspora, ancestors, descendants of slaves, transatlantic slave trade

We need to put this on the table for your consideration: As we travel this nation’s Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, it is astounding to experience the initial hesitation and resistance within the Black community to honoring and remembering African ancestors. The response is across the board from all strata – social, cultural, economic, religious, educational. Conditioning over a 500-year period marked by enslavement and European dominance has made many of Read More

Both Sides

African Diaspora, African literature, ancestors, captured Africans, descendants of slaves, transatlantic slave trade

We are now in the season of departure and arrival (May-September), the season that marked the transatlantic trade in humans. It was a time when people were wrenched from their homes and communities, enslaved, forced to march to the coast, and endured the Middle Passage. They continuously confronted the unknown and the unimaginable. Ghanaian author Ama Ata Aidoo prescribes what descendants of those captured Africans and all others related to Read More

World Connections – Nelson Mandela

African Diaspora

Nelson Mandela is an inspiration. For more than twenty years after prison release, he has through his wisdom, humility, patience, strength, and humanity enabled us to connect to freedom and independence struggles throughout the world. By example he has provided us with a measure of the qualities we must demand in a leader. This video and music, reflecting the enthusiasm and support he has generated over time, celebrates his life. Read More

From the Beginning

African American History, African Diaspora, captured Africans, slavery, transatlantic slave trade

So very often, people wish to mark the starting point to events in history. That is hard to do, almost impossible. As additional information surfaces, pinpointing the when and how of history becomes more intriguing, unwinding an almost unending thread that leaves us with more questions than answers. For instance, when were the first enslaved Africans brought by Europeans to what would eventually become the United States? Surprisingly, the answer Read More

Living Proof

African American History, African Diaspora, ancestors, captured Africans, descendants of slaves, slavery, transatlantic slave trade

During our travels, MPCPMP board members frequently have conversations with people of African descent who express deep regret that because of the human trade we do not know who our ancestors were. They make comparisons between those of us in the Diaspora, and European and Asian people who can state their specific heritage. It is a great disservice to our progenitors if we feel that because they are unknown and Read More

Spare Parts

African American History, African Diaspora, descendants of slaves, slavery

During a recent road trip to organize ancestral ceremonies in Virginia, two members of the project’s executive board were taken on a tour of Fredericksburg. While relating its history, the guide commented on the intentions of one 19th century couple, Mary and William Blackford, and their views of black people’s liberation. Profoundly affected by what she saw every day as a member of Fredericksburg’s slave holding society, Mary Blackford developed Read More

Transcending Race

African American History, African Diaspora, African ethnic groups, ethnic studies

Anyone who is able to see the exhibit on race now touring the country should do so. The information is posted in the Upcoming Event section of: www.middlepassageproject.org. Mulling over the videos and interviews of people who participated in the exhibit, one phrase struck a chord; it has been repeated a lot since President Obama was elected in 2008. The idea that this country should “transcend race” has been offered Read More

Skill and Talent

African American History, African Diaspora, Native Americans, slavery

In several posts over the past months, passing reference has been made to the fact that European explorers and conquerors were accompanied in the “New World” by Africans, many of whom were enslaved. Yet in most cases, until recently, people of African heritage were historical footnotes, if mentioned at all. For example, it is not an exaggeration to say that the white American explorers Lewis and Clark and Robert Peary Read More