Afterthoughts On Liberation Of A Legacy

In a famous scene from the mini-series Roots, the character Kunta Kinte is severely beaten because he refuses to accept the name Toby.

What was Kunta Kinte trying to protect ?

Without a sense of self, how is it possible to have a sense of self-worth?


The question at the heart of the dynamic between the so-called slave and the so-called master is a question of identity. The first priority of the so-called master is to convince the so-called slave of being inherently inferior. Holding a person in captivity will more often than not create wtihin him or her a feeling of inferiority. Referring to someone as a slave helps to reinforce this feeling. So doesn't it make sense that referring to someone's ancestors as slaves would also have a detrimental effect?

How long will it take for us to liberate the memory of our Ancestors from the label of slave that so many of them were forced to accept as they lived? When will they cease to be referred to as goods that were traded? How would they have us refer to them and to their experiences? What words will we use to tell our history to our descendants? Will we use the words that have been imposed upon us , or words that we have carefully chosen that reflect a sense of self-worth and human dignity? I hope that it will be the latter.