SLAVE HISTORY

If you are overemphasizing the vicitmization aspects of slavery I cna see why that would be uncomfortable for your students. We as African Americans get an overdose of that. But if you also include discussion about the resiliencey of our culture through our arts traditions, food and families, there may be an opportunity for you to empower them with this knowledge. make the link between Negro Spirituals, the oral tradition and rap. talk about the significance of dance and trace the history from traditional African dance to the cakewalk to hip hop moves. There are tons of links, you just have to make it empowering and relevant.

just some ideas

Thanks. That's helpful.

I also get a little annoyed when professors speak of African-American history through the eyes of slavery only. African-Americans have contributed a great deal to America and this should also be emphasized. One of my favorite books is African-American Firsts by Joan Potter with Constance Claytor. It is about famous, little-known achievements made by African-Americans. It certainly uplifted me and I'm sure it will do the same for ALL students of history!

At 07:33 PM 3/2/98 EST, you wrote:

Yes! The Kendall Whaling Museum has a permanent exhibition (soon to be online as well) called 'Heroes in the Ships': African Americans in the Whaling Industry.

Men of color played an enormously important role in the whale fishery. From Colonial times to the twentieth century, men of African ancestry were active in New England’s whaling industry as sailors, blacksmiths, shipbuilders, officers, & owners.

By the 1840s, black sailors constituted about one-sixth of the labor force; and by 1900, African Americans and Cape Verdeans had become a majority.

The positive stories should be part of the message.

Ellen Hazen

I'm not sure who the professor being refered to is, but there is no question that this statement is true. The subject being discussed on the list was the interpretation of slavery, not the African American experience generally. There was no intention on my part, or I am sure on anyone else's to suggest that slavery was the sum total of the African-Ameircan experience. It was simply the subject under discussion. In my post I did mention the need to include in any discussion the preservation of African-Ameircan culture and family in a very oppressive environment.

Associate Professor of History Director - Forrest C. Pogue Public History Institute Murray State University - Murray, KY 42071-0009 Phone502) 762-6571 Fax502) 762-6587 Home Phone502)753-9033 Pogue Institute web site: