Oral Histories Of The Atlantic Slave Trade
by Anne Bailey

In Southern Ghana along the stretch of land off the Atlantic Ocean formerly known as the Old Slave
Coast, there are only a few stories that are remembered about the Atlantic Slave Trade. The Anlo Ewe community, resident there for hundreds of years, has almost collectively "forgotten" the details of
that not so distant yet cruel era. It is as if the whole entire period was like a deep ugly spot to be
blotted out of historical memory.

As a result, the story of the slave trade has rarely been told from the perspective of the people who suffered the most. Most historians have written about the trade using records from European and American planters and traders. My talk will give center stage to the voices of Africa - the unofficial historians in the families of West Africa who have for centuries passed on the history of the people
orally.

Specifically, I will address the issue of the impact of the slave trade on these coastal communities
as reflected in 40 taped oral histories from 1992-2003. I will look at the ways in which the slave trade affected African social and political institutions. I will also address the question of African agency in history of the slave trade - a subject which has been hotly debated for years. This work is featured
in my recent book, AFRICAN VOICES OF THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE: BEYOND THE SILENCE AND
THE SHAME. (Beacon Press 2005 and Ian Randle Publishers, 2007)

Finally, I will discuss the impact of African culture on communities in the Caribbean and the
Americas because the Africans, although enslaved, nonetheless left a strong cultural imprint
on life in the New World . Much has survived in the way of music, dance, family customs and
ideas about justice. My talk will endeavor to present a concrete understanding of how Africa's
past remains alive and well across the Atlantic and wherever else people of African descent
now call home.