Oscar Allen’s book ­ – one for the classroom

4.MAY.07

WE WANT TO BECOME WISE: A READING BOOK ON TRANSATLANTIC SLAVERY FOR CLASSROOM, HOME AND COMMUNITY ­ By Oscar Allen.

EDITOR: Oscar Allen and Projects Promotions Limited must be commended for producing this reader. It has something for all of us, especially students in the classroom. The reader deals with a subject (The Transatlantic Slave Trade) that is part and parcel of our culture. The publication is very timely as the almanac signals the two hundredth anniversary of the abolition of that demeaning enterprise.{{more}}

The malignancy of the transatlantic slave trade must be understood in all its gruesome details, if we are to connect the significant dots that makeup our past. Needless to say our future may well hinge on lessons emanating from the past and how well we heed those lessons. In this reader for public schools, indeed for all of us, Allen has sought to connect the dots from those fateful days, when our ancestors were forcefully rounded up, transported across the Atlantic to the Americas and the Caribbean, and used as input in a production process that created wealth for the perpetrators of this heinous activity ­ the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Put more graphically, Allen has done more: he “has broken the window and enabled rays of light to shine through, thereby exposing to the reader, some strange stories, some exciting persons, as well as some situations where you feel comfortable and at home about the experience of a people, a region, indeed a civilization”.

The booklet is divided into five chapters and a conclusion. The booklet also contains acknowledgements, a strategically significant preface, a foreword by Project Promotions Limited and an introduction by Dr. Adrian Fraser: the Chairman of Projects Promotions Limited. The chapters give a blow by blow description of the events and activities beginning in the days before the Transatlantic Slave Trade turned the lives of so many human beings upside down, through its development, and impact on the slaves, slave owners, the corporate community they served, and the struggles of those who had to make two ends meet during the post emancipation and colonial periods. What is innovative about the presentation is that the story is told by both sinners (those carried out those barbarous acts and profited from this enterprise) and saints (those who bore the brunt of the human sacrifices and none of the immediate benefits. In addition the reader is introduced to several historians (Williams and Rodney) and other voices that are more likely to present an unbiased view of events. It is made clear from those quoted and those who speak that in spite of the humiliation, in spite of the brutality meted out to the slaves and ex-slave, in spite of their inability to share in the fruits of their labour, the ex-slaves regarded emancipation as opportunity to chart a new course in a supposedly new environment. They wanted to develop a community in which to educate their children.

Then came the unkindest cut of all, their freedom was diluted by a new “reign of terror”. The planter still brooding over the loss of his capital stock began using the government machinery to block ownership of land as well as freedom of movement by the ex-slaves (Antigua Act of 1837). The former slave owner never seemed to have adjusted to the new reality of paid worker rather than slaves. They preferred to import contract workers rather than negotiate a fair wage for the new workers. This reign of terror certainly blunted the aspirations of the freed slaves.

However, their determination remained intact. The battle for survival as a free people had just begun. The colonial period and its insensitivity to the human needs of those living under the regime would last for sometime.

The booklet provides useful information without overwhelming the reader (student). Students will no doubt ask the right questions that will generate information to fill the gaps…if only because they “want to become wise”. Questions may very well arise with respect to reckoning of time (preface): why do we need to reckon time? What is the significance of 2000 the “beginning of the present era?” Why not 1951, the year adult suffrage was introduced? May be a case can be made for either year. This creates an opportunity for students to research the facts and drawing the appropriate conclusion. Be that as it may, something can be said in favour of 1951. Up to 1951 the vast majority did not feel that they were not part of the governance system. They felt left out. In fact they did not have the franchise. The police/justice system or tax collector was regarded by the disenfranchised majority as the de facto government.

Moreover from the standpoint of the disenfranchised both social agencies seemed to be punitive (at best). In other words both the legislative and executive side of the governance system seems not to cater to their basic needs. There were simply two societies in one. Thus 1951 could be regarded as the dividing line between such state of affairs and the present. After 1951 legislative space was given to those people who felt left out. It was half a loaf (which as folklore would have it, is better than no loaf) because executive power, which dealt with allocation of resources, was not granted. So 1951 could be regarded as a watershed year, because everyone was brought into the governance system, although some were more equal than others.

It should be the hope of all of us that Allen’ work should serve as tipping point for scholarship and outreach activities that will provide a beacon of hope for our future.

Michael S. Joshua Petersburg, Virginia, USA