African American History - How Well Do We Know It?

All peoples of this world need to know where they came from and the bitter struggles faced by their forefathers in shaping the world as we know it today. In particular not many young African Americans show any inclination to learn of their history, as a result they do not even know themselves. This is indeed a tragedy as African American History tells the story of a glorious and victorious march from enslavement to freedom depending on the version that you read.

A story can take many shapes depending on who is narrating it. The historians of that era when slavery was at its foremost were mostly of European stock so naturally this horrible event in history was very much sanitized for public consumption. The brutalities of the slave trade and the total suppression of African culture, African art and African music are hardly recorded anywhere. It was left to the elders to pass on the stories of the many heroes of the slave trade; those great rebels who helped pave the way for its eventual abolition.

The slave trade traversed an unholy triangle from Africa to the Caribbean and then to America. The treatment was the same in both locations, inhumane and barbaric but it started from the moment they were captured in their homeland and sold to the captains of the slave ships. African poverty was so pervasive in those times, it was easy to convince the locals to trade their brothers and sisters for pieces of gold and silver. In fact like a piece of meat they were actually sold twice, first by their own countrymen and then by the Captains to the plantation owners for the highest price. After spending months at sea cooped up like chickens in a pen amidst disease and filth those who survived were made shiny with oils and paraded like refurbished cars to be sold to the highest bidder.

The above should be enough to convince every young African American to seek more knowledge on their history, their ancestors and where they came from. How else could they know that their ancestors were forced to forget completely who they were, to abandon their culture and adopt the music, food, dress, names and religion of their new masters. So much for the rich diversity of African musical instruments and African food. As if this was not enough they had to pray to the Western god and forget the panorama of gods they used to worship.

Learning about African American history comes not only from the books and encyclopedias on the school syllabus and in libraries around the world. In fact the real facts about African American history come from those who have stories to be recounted and which have been passed from generation to generation.