Introduction

You’ve just been captured! You were walking with your brothers in the forests of Western Africa, when, all of a sudden, shots rang out. The next thing you know, a large white man grabs you and throws chains around you. You are now in the belly of a dark ship, headed who knows where, surrounded by complete strangers and a horrible stench…

Task

·   Your task will be to write a journal of your voyage from Africa to America in the hold of a slave ship. What happens aboard the slave ship? How is the world you see when you arrive in America different from the one you left back in Africa? Your journal will answer these and other questions. Before you can do this, you will need to do some research on the “Middle Passage”, as this journey from Africa to America was called.

Process

·   Click on this picture to learn about African slave traders:

·   You may want to look at some actual journals of slaves’ experiences in America for ideas about the things they wrote about. (HINT: most of these detail slaves’ lives in the U.S. – look for examples that mention Africa or the Middle Passage)

·   Click here to read about the Middle Passage.

Evaluation

·   Your journal should meet the following requirements: 1) is at least 2 pages, typed double-spaced; 2) talks about Africa, the Middle Passage, and America; and 3) is written in first person (“I walked…I ate…” etc.). Half your grade will be based on these 3 criteria, and the other half will be based on the realism and creativity of your journal (I should be able to tell that you did some serious research, and that you put some effort into this).

Conclusion

·   Congratulations! You have successfully researched and taken part in an important, though painful part of our nation’s history. Hopefully, now that you are back in the present, and freed from your shackles, you will be able to better understand the experience of slavery.