A Report Highlighting the Desperate Acts of Blacks as they Perseverated on Freedom
1877-Civil War
Rolanda E. Lively
African American History,
CRN 32427 Tues-Thurs
Ms. Carmen Thompson
August 4, 2011
African Americans perseverated on freedom! As we explore the lives of African-Americans and their experience in the place we now call the United States of America, we will see how black people perseverated on freedom and risked their lives for freedom during the following significant historical periods; Horrifying middle passage of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Religious Great Awakening 129, and lastly the Bloody Antebellum period. The past comes back to life, through first person quotes of courageous men and women who bared their souls. We all bare witness to voices of African American Hero’s each one never shifting their gaze from the golden gates of freedom.
One of the first times that we see the preservation on freedom is during the middle passage of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The middle passage is steeped in unimaginable inhumane atrocities that no person or living thing should ever endure. For many, death and suicide became viable options for freedom in the face of captivity and the unknown.
The planks of the slave ships hemorrhage with the blood, flesh, tears, and screams from Africans, who endure the torture bestowed on them by the slave ship crew. Africans of all ages were shackled and packed into the belly of the massive ships, with cramped and restrictive quarters, with not enough room to stand. People are stacked, one on top of the other, like one would pack clothes in a luggage. The mindset, pack as many Africans as the ship can carry is expected and the norm for the captain and crew. “Sometimes weeks passed before the captain had packed the ship with as many slaves as possible. During those
