Abandonment and Dismemberment

   This weeks seminar focused on Abandonment and Dismemberment. Dr. Beatty started his lecture by further describing the Abandonment and Dismemberment of Africans and "something torn and new". The first key point is that of abandonment. The abandonment of African's from their home was brought by the middle passage of slaves. The middle passage is the process of taking Africans and dispersing them to the new world. The new world includes Brazil, the European and French Caribbean and North America. During this process more than 16 million Africans were stripped from their roots.
   The second key topic of the lecture was the assimilation of Africans to their new homes and cultures. Victims of the middle passage were forced to participate in and learn a new culture. From social structures, to family patterns, to languages and many more, Africans abandoned what they knew and what defined them as a people to learn the culture of their slave masters.
    The resistance of slaves was also a distinguished topic in the lecture. Runaway slaves established maroon societies apart from the plantations. Many were developed in remote areas and new communities were built where African's could create a "home away from home" which was self governed and cultured to their liking.
    Along with the resistance of slaves back then comes the resistance of ignorance in modern times. Dr. Beatty says that it is imperative to rewrite the history of the Americas emphasizing African presence and impact. Many aren't aware of how critical a role Africans have played in molding the Americas in what they are today. We, as students of Howard, have the responsibility to resist this ignorance and spread the knowledge throughout the community.

Kristen Bailey