We spoke with revolutionary activist and historian Haki Shakur about the history and legacy of rebellion and revolt of enslaved Africans taken to the “new world”.
Some of the questions discussed included:
- 1. Could you give us an idea of the size and scale of slavery in the Americas: when were Africans kidnapped and taken to the “new world”, how many were taken from the continent overall, and where were they taken to?
- 2. Could you describe the life of a slave under this system? What was their childhood, adulthood and old age like? What work were they given? What happened if they didn’t do this work?
- 3. What languages, religions, customs, music etc did the African people bring over or create in America? Was the maintenance of this culture and education for the people done in secret, and if so could you describe that?
- 4. Could you tell us about African resistance to the slave system – at any or all points from Africa to the plantation, and violent and non violent? What were the most effective techniques?
- 5. Could you tell us about out.of the most successful slave revolt and what happened during them?
- 6. What did Africans who escaped the plantations do?
- 7. In what ways is this history remembered and continued by the New African nation in the u.s. today?
- 8. Why are none of these stories of resistance being told in film? If you could make a film about any story on this topic, what would it be and how would or could it get made?
