Slavery Archives - Page 18 of 23 - America's Black Holocaust Museum

Tortuous History Traced in Sunken Slave Ship Found Off South Africa

May 31, 2015

In 1794, a Portuguese slave ship left Mozambique for a 7,000-mile voyage to Brazil and the sugar plantations that awaited its cargo of black men and women. Shackled in the ship’s hold were between 400 and 500 slaves, pressed flesh to flesh with their backs on the floor. With the exception of daily breaks to exercise, the slaves would spend the bulk of the estimated four-month journey in the dark of the hold.

The journey lasted only 24 days. The São José Paquete Africa came apart violently on two reefs not far from Cape Town. The captain, crew and half of the slaves survived. An estimated 212 slaves perished in the sea. The remnants of the São José have been found, right where the ship went down. It is the first time that the wreckage of a slaving ship that went down with slaves aboard has been recovered.

The new National Museum of African American History and Culture, which will open in 2016 on the National Mall in Washington DC, will house an exhibit of the ship and its cargo.

Harvesting Cotton-Field Capitalism

October 4, 2014

Edward Baptist’s new book follows the money on slavery. His research shows how blacks’ suffering and forced labor is what made the USA powerful and rich.

From Slavery to Ferguson: America’s History of Violence Toward Blacks

September 27, 2014

English Prof. John Matteson teaches an 8-week course about the impact of the legacy of slavery on violence in law enforcement, race relations, and families.

Beating our black children furthers the legacy of slavery

September 16, 2014

In light of Adrian Peterson’s child abuse indictment, David Love opines, “We must break the cycle of trauma that passes from generation to generation and heal both the victim and the victimizer.”