East Coast Journal - Day 3

The International Association of Black Magical Artist Summit has finished for another two years. I certainly look forward to the next event.

I got a cab straight to George Town to spend time with my friend Darwin Ortiz. I was very tired, the clocks went back another hour and completely messed up my system.

Following morning my cousin picked me up for breakfast.

Last time we met was for Thanks Giving last year. She is so lovely.

She inspired me to go visit The African American Museum.

I did.

It was a very moving experience.

Four years ago, I was in D.C. on a photographic workshop with Bryan Peterson. They were building this Museum at the time. I got see the finished building, it is magnificent.

This is my first ever experience of being in an environment dedicated to The History of Black People.

I felt this was and is my story, simply because my parents are Caribbean. Slaves were taken from Africa and taken as far as Macao, the east coast of American with Annapolis being a big port for the ships coming in from the Atlantic Crossing.

The tour of the Museum begins at the very bottom and rightly so. I was more interested in the source of slavery, the how and why? Black people were seen as commodities for this very specific purpose.

What I cannot get my head around is the thought, it’s one thing taking a human being from his home, it’s another thing entirely, wilfully setting out to break the spirit of human being through mental, psychological and physical subjugation. This becomes a conversation about morality, humanity and evil.

This exhibition puts a dramatic spotlight on the Slave Trade, that’s just one story and context.

There is more.

There is the capture and treatment of Black People.

There is the dreaded Atlantic Crossing where millions of Black people died. Millions never completed the trip - it’s amazing that Kunta Kinte did.

I will leave this blog post here because I am not finished.

I will return.

For now, consider this; the Slaves who came over to America where Free Men and Women in their minds and hearts - for some, they were broken spiritually.

Some fought back, one even lost half his foot and yet, passed on the legacy of his home and people to his daughter Kizzy, who passed it on to her son George, who did the same with his son Tom. Tom shared the legacy with his daughter, Irene. Irene ensured her son Simon knew the truth of his heritage. Alex Haley heard the story about a Slave named Kunta Kinte from his father Simon Haley which was corroborated by his aunt Liz on the porch of the old house in Henning Tennessee.

This handed down genealogy by word of mouth represent a testimony to the courage, determination and humanity of our people.

I will be back