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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The Real Uncle Tom, Josiah Henson, is a Black Hero

Uncle Tom in Uncle Tom’s Cabin was based on a real person, Josiah Henson. The “Uncle Tom” in Beecher Stowe’s novel is a pale imitation of Josiah Henson who went on to free his family and help 118 others to freedom.

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Moving Monuments and Considering Community

A Kehinde Wiley statue, Rumors of War, takes its place one mile from the Avenue of Monuments. This monument of a young Black man responds to the many statues of confederate white men usually seen lining the streets of Richmond, Virginia.

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Fighting Racism…Especially Where We Don’t Realize It Exists

In his new book, award-winning author Ibram X. Kendi “pushes those of us who believe we are not racists to become something else: antiracists, who support ideas and policies affirming that “the racial groups are equals in all their apparent differences — that there is nothing right or wrong with any racial group.” A book review by historian Jeffrey C, Stewart.

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