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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More