Samuel Jackson Traces the History of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
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A docuseries on slavery through the lens of sunken slave ships that never reached their destination — ships that became mass graves of kidnapped Africans.
By , New York Times (Race/Related Newsletter)
…Slavery, of course, [is] not a new topic of scholarship, and Hollywood had already done a lot on the subject. But he discussed it with his wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, and something in particular stood out to them. This was a project attempting to tell the story of slavery in part through the lens of sunken slave ships that never reached their destination — ships that became mass graves of kidnapped Africans. It was a perspective, they felt, that could add to society’s understanding of the horrors of slavery….
That story is now a six-part docuseries, “Enslaved,” that premiered last Monday on Epix, which will air a new episode each week over the next five weeks….
Samuel L. Jackson at the Point of No Return in Loango National Park in Gabon, in Central Africa.Credit…AP Slave Ships Productions Ltd./Cornelia Street’s Ships Ltd./EPIX
The series traces Mr. Jackson’s journey across the globe as he uncovers elements of the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. He is joined on parts of the journey by Afua Hirsch, a British journalist, and Simcha Jacobovici, a documentary filmmaker and journalist who directs the series. The story also follows Diving With a Purpose, an offshoot of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers, as they search for wreckage of slave ships along the ocean bottom….
Read the full article, including an interview with Mr. Jackson and his wife (an executive producer of the series.) here.
Learn more about slaving ships, eyewitness reports of the conditions on them, and searches for their wreckage in Africa and the US here, here, and here.
More Breaking News here.
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