The Maafa/The Afrikan Holocaust in the Americas Chapter 2

maafa

“the great disaster”; refers to the afrikan holocaust of european enslavement, violent encroachment, and 400 years of enslavement in the americas

holocaust

firmly associated with jewish people

500-1,500 (can be up to 2,500)

how long was the saga of literal devastation for afrikans?

they were Afrikan people whose condition was slavery

why should we say “enslaved afrikan” vs. “slave”?

chronic trauma, horror, misery, suffering

life under enslavement

afrikans in america

group that uniquely lost all cultural identity with their indigenous history

european ambushes/raids or trading with afrikan chiefs

how were afrikans first captured?

slave marches

forced marches to the coast, hundreds of miles, with brutality, rape, and separation

the dungeons

afrikans were stripped, branded, chained, and held for days to years

the middle passage

40-80 day voyage, 3,000-6,000 miles, where millions died in horrific conditions

50 million taken; only about a quarter survived.

afrikans taken vs survived

misery, pain, terror, daily whippings

life on the plantation?

death on the spot/torture

what happened if you resisted work?

running away/escape

one of the most effective forms of resistance?

drapetomania

claimed enslaved people suffered from a mental illness that caused them to run away from bondage

poison, arson, faking/inducing illness, espionage, suicide

methods of sabotage afrikans used

over 250

how many slave revolts are documented?

patty rollers

slave patrols; organized groups of armed men who monitored and enforced discipline upon enslaved afrikans

haitian revolution

“the greatest rebellion of enslaved afrikans in the american hemisphere”; 1791-1804

dutty boukman, afrikan priestess, general jean jacques dessalines

who led the haitian revolution?

palmares in brazil

example of maroons?

brainwashing, raw violence/whipped, loss of identity

ways in which a man/woman can be enslaved

religion

#1 tool of brainwashing; claimed enslavement was “God’s design”

whippings, hangings, burning, etc.

violent punishments used against enslaved afrikans?

house “slaves”

brainwashed to share their owners’ attitudes and values

field “slaves”

experienced raw violence every minute of the days

mulattos

mixed afrikan and white; born from the rape of afrikan women by the white plantation owners; had the benefit of light-skinned privilege and proximity to whiteness

the afrikan holocaust

the process through which afrikans in america became consciously disconnected from their core afrikan cultural reality

cultural disconnection, post-traumatic slave syndrome/disorder

lasting impact of slavery?