Reckoning With Slavery Requires Access to Records of the Past

The consequences of 400 years of the Atlantic slave trade are still felt today. Untangling the power structures and systemic racism that came with slavery is ongoing, with police brutality, memorials to slave owners, and reparations forming part of the discussion.

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Samuel Jackson Traces the History of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Samuel L. Jackson hosts a six-part docuseries, “Enslaved,” that premiered last Monday on Epix. The series traces Mr. Jackson’s journey across the globe as he uncovers elements of the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. 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.

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Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Black Lives Matter but slavery isn’t our only narrative

Slave memorial in Zanzibar

Our historical understanding of Blackness is most commonly shaped by the story of the Atlantic slave trade, in particular to the Americas. But this is a linear narrative that is dominated by American voices. It’s not just potentially exclusory; it doesn’t adequately take into account the diversity of black people worldwide. Aretha Phiri asks Michelle M. Wright about her work in disrupting the slavery narrative.

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Enslaved Peoples in African Societies Before the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Slave memorial in Zanzibar

Slavery in Africa originated as the rewards of war and a punishment for criminals. People were not commonly born into slavery. Unlike in the Americas, Slavery was not automatically passed from parents to children. People enslaved in African societies often gained freedom before the end of their lives. At times they even became equal family members with those who once enslaved them.

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