How Did Africans Preserve and Affirm Their Way of Life and Use Their Identities as a Means to Resist Enslavement?

Brittany Wyatt

@02608086

September 30th, 2011

2nd Framing Question

Dr. Carr

How did Africans preserve and affirm their way of life and use their identities as a means to resist enslavement?

“Say your name nigger it's Toby” said by white slave master in which the slave responds as “My name is Kunta Kinte.” This line from the 1977 movie Roots. Kunta Kinte holds onto the memories he had in Africa to remind him of who he was. Holding onto memories if who you were during the time period of enslavement was difficult considering the fact that those memories and sense of who the slaves were were desperately trying to be erased by the oppressor, however that movie line is a perfect example of how African preserved and affirmed their life and use their identities as a means to resist enslavement. In this case Kunta Kinte held on to the memory of who he was and restated it through his voice as well as affirmed it by refusing to deter from who he was by giving in and addressing himself.

as Toby.

In “Toward the History of Africana Studies: Genealogy and Normative Theory.” The author commentates on a theory by Daubi Azibo stating that the durability and preservation of the African cultural by discretely maintaining their sense of self “over their presence on the planet. Stating that as long as there is a group of Africans

The mind was the one thing the white slave owners couldn't erase. As hard as they tried Africans held onto their identities, cultural traditions, and connections through verbal exchange. The matriarchs of the time would pass elaborate details of customs, events, and notable. This oral tradition was a way to preserve their history and make bonds. Since enslaved people were not allowed to formally educate themselves which includes learning how to write down these memories of the past, oral storytelling was the only way to have a connection to Africa.

The memories that the people on the boats maintained help them to practice such cultural...