Desmond Henry THE TITLE of my piece this week is a contradiction in terms. It is a deliberate oxymoron designed to describe the best exhibition I have ever seen of that vast human tragedy, slavery.
'Captive Passage' is the name of a current exhibition by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. of the transatlantic slave trade, and the inhumane routing of artisans, farmers, religious leaders and families from Africa to the Americas (North, Central, South) to build a world economy. The display at the Anacostia branch of the Smithsonian, should be a 'must see' by as many living human beings as possible. In my view, it has outdone anything ever attempted so far whether in graphics, print or movie. It is exceptional.
Slavery, as the exhibition points out, was no different from any of today's business leaders waking up with a novel idea of a way to improve and expand his business. The business was world trade. The idea was how best to do it, at minimal cost. The answer was free human labour. Within this context, the owners of capital in Europe forcibly used free labour from Africa to develop products in the Americas for transshipment and trading in the rest of the world, mainly Europe. In our history in our schools, we were taught about its somewhat sketchily. Nothing like what 'Captive Passage' illustrates.
THE REAL BEAUTY
The real beauty of this exhibition, I found, was its frankness and authenticity. No one was concerned about embarrassment, shame or emotional injury. It is an honest display of the way it was.
As the exhibition points out, the development of much of the Americas and Europe was realised through the concept of forced labour. The labour of enslaved Africans made possible the taming of the wilderness, the construction of cities, the excavation of mines, the development of powerful plantation economies, and the building of huge empires. It points out that the original Africans were not 'slaves' in their own lands, but were former merchants, farmers, priests, husbands, mothers and sons who were forcibly uprooted from their homes and dispersed across the Americas without concern for their personal lives or humanity. They were transported by the ships of Europe.
THE SQUALOR UNBELIEVABLE
The scale of the human squalor in the transatlantic crossing, is something else. Pictures and graphics of the squalor are unbelievable. Known as the 'Middle Passage', it took somewhere between six to twelve weeks to complete. Once in the Americas, the surviving slaves were off-loaded and sold in the markets. The ships, in turn, returned to Europe with sugar, tobacco, mahogany, spices and other goods produced by the free labour.
The exhibition points out that while historians do not agree on the number of Africans who were forcibly transported, it is generally conceded that the number exceeded 10 million. The total number killed or abducted, however, is far in excess of 50 million. The mode of the journey living quarters, chains, food and social amenities are undescribable. Graphics of some of the final destinations, including Jamaica, are very fetching. Others include Cuba and Brazil. References to seasickness, dehydration, hunger and suffocation abound. The favourite transatlantic food was yam.
After the tour, I spoke to the curators at the museum and enquired about the possibility of moving the entire exhibition to Jamaica and the Caribbean. They liked the idea and thought it entirely possible. My challenge, therefore, is to our embassy in Washington to make contact with the Smithsonian and determine what is feasible. I have no doubt that a well conceived and put together programme funded by public and private interests could eventually materialise. I have some idea about getting in here, and would be willing to participate. Our schools, teachers, leaders, and citizens should all be able to see this. Again, the exhibition itself is nothing short of slavery at its best.
Get this: A recent study in the US has disclosed that the per capita vocabulary of the average American is somewhere between 5,000 to 6,000 words. I wonder what figure a similar study among the average Jamaican would come up with (Bad words not included).
The Bottom Line: Anger is energy that has not yet found its proper channel.
Desmond Henry is a marketing consultant formerly based in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, now resident in north Florida.
