Let My People Go

I am making a brief home pit-stop before departing for the last few days of my vacation. Thanks to those who commented on blog entries during my absence and those of you who continued to check in.

I was away on a brothers road trip with my one sibling, Eric. Last year we drove to the south shore of Nova Scotia and while there I read The Book of Negroes. We realized that we were a few kilometres from Birchtown, essentially the final Canadian destination for Aminata, the central character. We visited the exhibit on black history located there.

This year we drove to the deep American south, our final stop being Savannah Georgia. Savannnah is a city steeped in history and uniquely southern. On the way we stopped in Charleston, South Carolina, and discovered that there was a slavery museum in the city. The Slave Mart Museum is situated in one of the few enclosed slave markets which existed during the years of the trade in human beings. The exhibits were excellent but it was sobering to walk through a building where people were bought and sold.

One exhibit reflected on the faith traditions of slaves, a combination of African animist traditions, Islam, and Christianity. It was noted that the bible was the source of inspirational stories of freedom and equality, including the exodus from slavery in Egypt by the Jewish people. Strangely, Aminata began her sojourn in the Americas in Charleston, on the slave floor. Eric also read The Book of Negroes and we both appreciated these opportunities to expand our knowledge of this era,