This is something Dr. Beatty stated that really stuck with me. The further away that we travel from the middle passage in time, the more we are disconnected from our roots. This is true of anything we are disconnected from for a period of time, but the particular situation in which Africans were literally ripped from their roots proves that we [the plants] were ripped with intent; intent to destroy any chance of reproduction of culture, value, and togetherness.
Dr. Beatty seems to be on a mission to reverse that intent by teaching us the correct way of evaluating the way we look at African continuities.
First Dr. Beatty introduced us to Maroon Societies. Maroon Societies are societies that were comprised of runaway slaves that operated similar to the societies that excited in Africa (before they were transported). These societies functioned completely on their own, and more importantly, thrived. It took Europeans almost 100 years to completely destroy the Maroon society of Quilumbo, which at its peak, reached 20,000 people.
Second, Dr. Beatty discussed how medicine men and women, who as slaves, created their own remedies and healing methods out of plants and herbs the planet provided. He also discussed how transported Africans merged their own culture into new religion. This assimilation of culture was persistent enough to still exist today. We as students at Howard University are taught to notice these continuities.
Last, Dr. Beatty discussed how what we know to be called Ebonics could be traced back to Ancient Egyptian language. He also mentioned the great privilege Howard’s Anthropology students in conducting excavation at the New York African Burial Ground and how that study was proof that we are actually making the connection between our past and our present.
-Britni Cuington
-Britni Cuington
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