The most defining day in African, African American history

Though few of us recognize it, September 16 marks one of the most important anniversaries in African/African American history.

On September 16, 1501, West Indies Governor Nicolas de Ovando received permission from Spain to introduce African slavery in the Americas. That notification officially ended the enslavement of West Indian natives as the source of free labor and began the exploitation of our African ancestors.

Over the next three centuries over 500 million Africans would be captured and transplanted to the West to endure what historians and human rights experts would later identify as the most evil and horrendous system of slavery known to mankind.

Of the half billion stolen from their native land, it is estimated that half would not survive the "Middle Passages," some would be tortured and killed en route. Millions would freely drown themselves.

Collectively, their bodies line the ocean floor, their skeletons a testament to the savagery of human procurers, many who flew the flags of Christianity.

Local cardiologist and hypertension specialist Dr. Clarence Grim authored a thesis a few years ago that surmised that those who survived the Middle Passages were a unique lot whose physiology allowed them to maintain an unhealthy amount of salt in their systems, an imperative for surviving horrendous conditions within the slave ships. Packed like sardines in cramped quarters, literally on top of each other in spaces so restrictive that they could not turn more than a few inches in any direction, they endured oppressive heat, many dying from dehydration. Those who survived were superior human specimens whose bodies could retain much needed salt. A byproduct of their physiology explains the high rate of hypertension in their descendents---us.

Stronger than the Native Americans and Caribbeans, and able to endure the oppressive temperatures of the Caribbean countries and America’s deep south, they were unique laborers, whose strong backs cultivated the lands, and whose skills in various crafts built a nation.

That they were considered subhuman, stripped of their religion, culture and language was but the tip of the iceberg. They were also stripped of their dignity, the women raped, the men tortured.

Unlike slavery in other "civilized" countries, American and Caribbean slavery was grounded in bigotry and racism. True, there was slavery in Africa and throughout Asia and Europe. But under those systems there was a code of civility, where slaves could work their way out of our enslavement, and in most cases miscegenated into the community. In America's system, families were separated; the captives were considered subhuman and thus treated like other "domesticated" animals. Slaves were forbidden to learn, and even the Supreme Court ruled they had no rights that Whites were obligated to respect.

Whether de Ovando was aware of the Pandora’s Box he opened is not known. And while his name is not commonly recognized, his actions elevate him among history’s worse criminals; right up there with Hitler, Stalin and Vlad the Impaler. For his request to Spain is the catalyst for the crimes against humanity that are far worse than the Jewish Holocaust and any other world atrocity.

As described by National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus in introducing their Sankofa Day Observance in 2001: "September 16 marks the anniversary of the first African slave to be transported for labor in the New World to the island of Hispaniola, present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. The unfolding event that began 500 years ago changed the history of the world, and still is an agent for global change in many societies."

Six years ago I wrote about the NBCCC’s observance--a commemoration of the official beginning of the African Holocaust--and their national effort to draw attention to the history-changing day. The Black Catholics sought not only to draw attention to that infamous day in history, but sought to spark an international dialogue, which they envisioned would lead to a process of healing that is five centuries overdue.

There was discussion, but the effort, for the most part, fell on deaf ears.

Now it is time for others to pick up the mantle.

Black Americans celebrate the 4th of July to commemorate America’s independence, even though as Frederick Douglass proclaimed, American slaves had little reason to applaud an event that rang hollow to them. The Declaration didn’t provide millions of slaves with independence, and it spoke volumes that many of the framers of the Constitution were, in fact, slave owners.

We celebrate Juneteenth, recognizing the day when Texas slaves were told of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, even though that executive order only freed our ancestors in the south. President Abe conveniently forgot to free northern slaves.

Some of us celebrate the signing of Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the 13th Amendment, the signing of the Open Housing ordinance, the 1976 school desegregation decree and the opening of the first Black owned McDonald’s restaurant. But none of those events was more defining than what was set into motion on September 16, 1501. For it put into motion not only the institution of legalized slavery, but opened the door for everything that followed. We would not have needed a 13th amendment, emancipation proclamation or Civil Rights if it were not for that stain on the page of human history; a stain blotted with blood, sweat and human tears.

I will never forget the day my late son and I toured Goree Island off the coast of Senegal in West Africa. We stood in the cells our ancestors occupied centuries earlier. We crawled through the pits where "disobedient" captives were confined, shackled and beaten, their blood still straining the concrete floors.

And we stood with mouths agape, tears streaming down our faces as we walked through the "tunnel of no return," the passageway leading to the waiting ships.

Standing on the pier, we looked to the east, the seemingly endless sea that merged with the heavens, but was in reality a pathway to the living hell. Back over our shoulder was Mother Africa, a land none would ever see again.

Over our other shoulder was a trail leading to a church we had visited minutes before, and surrounding it was a cluster of small houses where thousands of young virgin girls were raped and brutalized by the sailors and flesh merchants who held no remorse for their "crimes" because they viewed themselves as having sex with animals.

Some of the housing is today occupied by the descendents of the rape victims, who were often allowed to stay on the island if they became pregnant.

The church has not been used for decades. I remember several members of our tour party spitting on the floor of the church, the dichotomy of the situation overwhelming them.

I also recall a spirited conversation with a fellow tourist who explained that nowhere in the Bible is slavery condemned. He even cited scriptures where slaves were told to be "obedient to their masters."

That information didn’t ease our pain.

Black America should petition to make September 16 a national--an international--day of remembrance. Our public and private schools should develop curriculum to discuss that day of infamy, and the events that followed. Our churches should dedicate the Sunday closest to the day to assess the role of Christianity in the tragedy of slavery, Hebrew culture that promotes slavery, and as the Black Catholics advocated, the importance of resolution, reunion and reparations.

Politicians should hold committee hearings on how slavery has impacted the condition and status of Black Americans today. And every Black household should use the event to explore how the shadow of slavery continues to cloud our judgment.

Let’s designate September 16 "Black Holocaust," "World Genocide Day," "Evil Day," "Hate Day" or "Death Day." Call it whatever you want, but call it something that leads to discussion, repentance and reconciliation. Most importantly, let us not forget the most defining day in African/African American history.

Hotep.