BREAKING THE SILENCE :
Teaching About The Transatlantic Slave Trade (Tulane University, August 19-21, 2000)

The Need for a Diaspora Perspective in the Teaching of Slavery in Africa

Elisee SOUMONNI
Universite Nationale du Benin, Cotonou

Abstract

1 Slavery, despite its prevalence in various contemporary forms, is likely to remain a taboo subject in Africa if the silence in the teaching about the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its consequences is not broken. As a matter of fact, school curricula, heritage of colonial domination, are almost silent on the issue. This heritage is yet to be properly challenged.

2 Breaking the silence in the teaching about the transatlantic slave trade implies three necessary and inter-related conditions: a) a recognition of the need for such a teaching in the school curriculum; b) a clear definition of the content and objective of the teaching program; c) an appropriate teaching methodology.

3 In the prevalent situation, the transatlantic slave trade is not the subject of any organized and coherent teaching. The issue is dealt with in the context of European expansion and activities during the era of the obnoxious trade and the campaign for its abolition. It is also dealt with within the narrow framework and perspective of the former colonial powers’ school curricula. As a result, students have a fragmented picture of this significant aspect of African and world history in the form of incoherent narratives. Undue emphasis on details about the organization of the trade underrates its impact on Africa and its diaspora, two dimensions to be taken into account in the teaching of slavery in Africa.

4 If it is true that slavery in Africa existed before the Transatlantic Slave Trade, it is equally true that the new trade gave another dimension to the traditional old one. Similarly, a proper grasp of the nature of slavery in Africa before and in the era of the Transatlantic Slave Trade requires a corresponding grasp of the nature of slavery in the Americas. Moreover, the enduring consequences of the trade in the New World and in Africa, its shared memory on both sides of the Atlantic and its worldwide legacy call for this comparative perspective. In the teaching methodology of the subject, there is a lot to gain from such an approach: pedagogical tools, documentation, visits to museums and places of memory, teachers’ training and students’ reaction to the most sensitive aspects of the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade such as racism and social discrimination. A solid educational basis can thus be laid for a necessary intercultural dialogue and a culture of peace.

5 Finally, a proper teaching of the transatlantic slave trade at the secondary school level implies an appropriate teaching and research program at the tertiary level where potential teachers of the subject are exposed to their initial training. A lot remains to be done in this respect!

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