How does it feel to be ripped away from your homeland? Your comfort place? Your family? Do you give up on life itself or do you fight in order to find ways to return? What about your culture and beliefs? Should you throw them away and settle for those of your new environment? Or would you faithfully practice those customs and beliefs as if nothing changed? What about hope? Happiness? Do you still have either?
These questions were answered by this week’s presentation by Dr. Mario Beatty. He spoke of the dismemberment of Africans from their homeland, Africa. In order to explain the dismemberment, historical narratives are used. Many narratives portray the “loss and emptiness” of Africans. When taken away from their homeland, the Africans had no knowledge of where they were going. They weren’t able to plan and pack what they needed. They were, at a sudden moment, taken from their everyday lives in order to become slaves in an unknown land. This had a great impact on them giving them a sudden emptiness in their souls.
However, not everything was taken from them. Although taken from their land, the Africans kept their culture and religion. They continued dancing and singing and telling stories in order to keep their culture alive. Most importantly, they kept their sense of togetherness and unity. Although coming from different tribes and speaking different languages, the Africans knew that they all had a common goal - to get back to Africa. With this, they were able to govern themselves and come together as one in several communities. With these communities, social structure was also created among the groups, both within the family and politically.
In addition to the topics covered in this PowerPoint, I would add a section solely about dance and music. These two things were extremely important in the lives of Africans. It was their way of expressing themselves. It allowed them to enjoy themselves and look upon the better things. They also used dance and music to tell stories and convey messages. Music and dance were crucial parts of the life of Africans, including the Black Diaspora.
- Carina F. <3
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