Sylviane Anna Diouf
Tromelin, Indian Ocean, home of the shipwrecked Africans

Ruins of the houses

Unesco piece on Tromelin
Places and people I find interesting. Subject to change...

Zumbi, maroon leader of Palmares. Salvador, Brazil

Remembering July 8

July 4, 2009

Tags: Cudjo, slave trade, slavery, Michelle Obama

On July 8, 149 years ago, 110 young people disembarked from the slave ship Clotilda. It may appear paradoxical, but at a time when there seems to be too few around, I truly believe that they and other victims of the slave trade and slavery are role models for all ages. Our pain and revolt at the sheer horror of what they endured, and at the poisonous legacy of the slave trade and slavery that need to be addressed and redressed, should not overshadow their accomplishments. (more…)

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Selected Works

Dreams of Africa in Alabama: The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Story of the Last Africans Brought to America
In a tale worthy of a novelist, Sylviane Diouf provides a well-researched, nicely written, and moving account of the last slave ship to America, whose 110 captives arrived in Mobile in 1860 and, after the war, created their dream of Africa in Alabama. Howard Jones, author of Mutiny on the Amistad
Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas
Thorough and ambitious. William and Mary Quarterly
Fighting the Slave Trade: West African Strategies
Readers are presented with a wide range of evidence to show how Africans fought against slavery as well as the slave trade. Canadian Journal of History
In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience
A groundbreaking look at [the] bigger picture has been unveiled in a project called "In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience." The Washington Post
Selected Book Chapters & Articles
Invisible Muslims: The Sahelians in France* The West African Paradox* Manding in the Americas* Sadaqa Among African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas
Bintou's Braids
Bintou’s hair is short and fuzzy, but she wants beautiful braids “with gold coins and seashells” like the big girls, but everyone says no. The New York Times
Kings and Queens of Africa
Young readers will enjoy this fascinating look at [some] brave leaders. Children's Literature
Growing Up in Slavery
Destroys the stereotype of the happy, ignorant slave child. Booklist

Quick Links

The Schomburg Center
Online books, images, exhibitions, and public programs on the global black experience
The Neo-African-Americans
How rapid, voluntary immigration from Africa and the Caribbean is transforming the "African-American" narrative
Slave Voyages
A database of 35,000 voyages of the transatlantic slave trade
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