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Over the coarse of the eighteenth century, the Gold Coast produced more than a million slaves, about 15 percent of the total shipped from West Africa… ~Marcus Rediker, The Slave Ship
The first African-American President of the U.S. landed in Accra, Ghana last evening. His first trip to the Sub-Sahara has symbolic significance for many reasons. Many Africans believe that Barack Obama represents the ascendancy of Africa on a global stage, reversing the despair and hardship that’s plagued the continent during the post-colonial era. They hope that his visit will call attention to the steep challenges and promising opportunities the continent faces.
Ghana is West Africa’s most stable, enduring democracy in a neighborhood where coups have been commonplace. Obama’s visit is a symbolic endorsement by the administration of the democratic process. But the symbolism doesn’t end there.
On Saturday, the Obamas are heading to the town of Cape Coast where they’ll visit one of the more infamous “slave castles” of the region. Slave castles like this served as both “factories” and prisons where slaves were kept until they were loaded aboard ships — floating dungeons — bound for the New World.
When I visited the castle during a business trip last year, I was overcome by its horror and unprepared for its impact. The images of those rooms haunted me for days.
It’s difficult to fathom that millions of human beings were “processed” in such a brutal and efficient fashion. After entering the cramped, airless rooms where slaves were kept and following their trail of misery to the infamous “Door of No Return,” it’s hard not to be moved. It’s heart-breaking.
Many politicians and celebrities have used the Cape Coast Castle as a photo-op over the years. But, when the Obamas visit the castle on Saturday, it could feel like a circle has finally been completed. Talk about symbolism.
As always, I’d love to hear your perspective. Please share your views and insights with my readers and me!
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Want more on this subject?
Here are images of the Cape Coast region’s two slave castles and its diverse people from my trip there.
> Update (7/11/) Hulu clip on the Obamas visit to the Cape Coast Castle.
A couple great books:
The Slave Ship – A Human History (referenced above), by Marcus Rediker is painstakingly researched and compelling.
The Door of No Return – The History of Cape Coast Castle and the Atlantic Slave Trade by William St. Clair is reviewed by the NYT here.
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Tags: accra, Cape Coast, Cape Coast Castle, Fante, Marcus Rediker, Middle Passage, slave castle, slave ship, slavery, the door of no return