I also learned how slavery, or indentured servants as they were called, wasn’t as uncommon. It was as common as trading gold or spices. Somewhere along the way, though, Europe, South America, and North America targeted Western Africa as a prime location for slave cargo. Throughout the exhibit, I learned about the brutalities and inhumane treatment that slaves went through.
The voyage alone had its exhibit. For Europeans to get Africans from Western Africa, they went in forcefully. Rifles, swords, chains, and whips. Invading homes, tribes, and civilizations. Men, women, and children were caught, bound, and chained together on a boat. Ones who refused or rebelled were murdered, women were raped, children separated from their parents, and men emasculated.
I learned how the Europeans didn’t care about anything but their “cargo,” Africans from all tribes and nations packed and chained together like sardines. Men were chained by their ankles and wrists and were surveilled by a guard with a whip to keep them in line. Women were only chained by the wrist, and separated from the men, only to be raped and brutalized. Thousands died at the hands of their captors, to disease, or even by choice. Believing that death would bring them back to their homeland.
What fascinated me the most about the entire experience was how much Black culture is American culture. How much pain we’ve turned into passion. When we were all on one accord, we impacted art, fashion, music, entertainment, politics, and inventions throughout the country.