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African American History - Do You Know It?

Many young African Americans today are ignorant of their own history. As a matter of fact learning and understanding African American History is essential for the African youth to understand just a little more about themselves. The history of African Americans is indeed a profound story of a struggle from enslavement to a long desired freedom.

What exactly is the truth about slavery and whose truth do we believe? The majority of records on African American history and the slave trade were written by Europeans of the slave trade era and they are slanted to make the slave trade look humane. In reality it was one of the most heinous acts in history which resulted in the total suppression of African culture and African art. The real truth of the many heroes of the slave trade, those men and women who rebelled the atrocities and inhumane treatment were passed from generation to generation by mouth.

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 key to learning African American history is in understanding the struggle that the slaves endured. For example, many people are not aware of the fact that the slaves were forced to desist from their own religious practices and even from playing traditional African musical instruments simply because the plantation owners did not understand it and therefore regarded it as a threat to them. Slaves were forced to adopt the religious practices of their masters as well as their names and other cultural belief. Basically they were made to forget who they were and where they came from.

The real truth about African American history should not be garnered from the corridors of a university but rather from the elders of the tribe, stories which have been told from one generation to the next. Only then would the real horrors of their epic journey be felt or the joy of freedom experienced as it was experienced by the heroes of yesteryear.

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