Category Archives: slavery

Trace

Posted on February 13, 2016 by admin

Periodically we respond or address issues that surface from our reading. Trace: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape is a recently published work by Mount Holyoke earth science professor Lauret Savoy that merits attention. Her writing is lyrical and … Continue reading →

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Black Enslavement and Emancipation – How Long

Posted on August 31, 2015 by admin

In an address given on August 23, 2015, to an audience gathered at Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, for an ancestral remembrance ceremony to commemorate enslaved Africans, Massachusetts State Representative Byron Rushing made a remark that struck a chord – … Continue reading →

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Fantasy

Posted on July 2, 2015 by admin

If I am not who you say I am then you are not who you think you are. Whenever observance for July 4th approaches, historical reflection is appropriate. This year, 2015, has been a time when chickens came home to … Continue reading →

Posted in African American History, African American literature, American legal system, American politics, ancestors, captured Africans, descendants of slaves, Slave economy, slavery, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Fantasy

Protest, Image, Black Struggle and Legacy

Posted on May 27, 2015 by admin

All black progress in the United States has begun with confrontation and resistance. This is a basic fact of American life and the only way to understand the current protest focused on police violence. As the black abolitionist Frederick Douglass … Continue reading →

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Symbolic Images

Posted on May 15, 2015 by admin

Among people who are part of the Western Hemisphere’s African Diaspora there are certain images that trigger a gut response – the Door of No  Return is one. Viewing a framed image of the ocean, many of us require no … Continue reading →

Posted in African American History, African Diaspora, ancestors, descendants of slaves, Middle Passage, slavery, transatlantic slave trade | Comments Off on Symbolic Images

The Whole Truth: A Missed Opportunity

Posted on April 25, 2015 by admin

History is as much about what is omitted as what is included. This was seen recently, when Professor Henry Louis Gates and Ben Affleck faced a quandary and by all apparent measures failed to present a complete story. On Sunday, … Continue reading →

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Perpetuating Lies

Posted on February 26, 2015 by admin

In some fashion we all are guilty of perpetuating lies and rationalizing omissions. Sometimes following the politically correct advice of, “if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all,” and in polite company avoiding race, religion, and people’s … Continue reading →

Posted in African American History, African Diaspora, Afro-Latinos, Central America, descendants of slaves, slavery | Comments Off on Perpetuating Lies

Perspective

Posted on February 3, 2015 by admin

Historical narrative is based upon more than documentation. “Facts” are placed within a perspective – the writer’s, the reader’s, the listener’s, and all have points of view. In the same manner that most of the maps of the world have … Continue reading →

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Why the Middle Passage?

Posted on January 23, 2015 by admin

Many people have questioned the Middle Passage as the focal point of the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP). Why choose this as a defining point of history related to Africans and their descendants? We are often asked … Continue reading →

Posted in African American History, African Diaspora, ancestors, captured Africans, Middle Passage, slave ports, slave ships, slavery, transatlantic slave trade | Comments Off on Why the Middle Passage?

Florida

Posted on March 18, 2014 by admin

As the state with the nation’s longest history of documented African presence, the Project is interested in highlighting Florida’s Middle Passage sites. We intend to honor ancestors and highlight the influence of Africans and their descendants in developing Florida. This … Continue reading →

Posted in African American History, African ethnic groups, Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latinos, ancestors, captured Africans, descendants of slaves, ethnic studies, Middle Passage, slave ports, slave ships, slavery, transatlantic slave trade | Comments Off on Florida