Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
. . .
Many people lost their lives here on Goree Island; many more died during the Middle Passage. And it is difficult to fully describe the heartbreak and despair I felt standing at the site of such unthinkable cruelty and suffering. It was almost hard for me to breathe as I thought about the terror and grief these men, women and children must have felt as they took their last steps through that doorway, knowing they would never again see their families or their country.
There is no way to undo what happened here at Goree Island and no way to erase the stain of slavery from our nation’s past. But there is also no denying the course that history has taken since that time. Since then, we’ve seen so many brave men and women rise up against slavery and segregation – folks like Harriet Tubman who led an underground railroad to freedom; and William Wilberforce and Frederick Douglass who spent their lives speaking out against slavery; and Dr. Martin Luther King who sacrificed his life working to fulfill his dream of a more just, more free America.
People who came through this island could never have imagined how history would unfold. And they certainly could never have imagined that someone like me – a descendant of slaves – would come here with her own family, and look out through that door of no return. And maybe, in the end, that is an argument for hope even in the face of the most unspeakable horrors, because time and again – both in America and around the world – we have seen that cruelty and oppression are no match for people of conscience who commit themselves to the cause of freedom. So I hope that in your own lives, instead of being overwhelmed by the tragedies of our past, you will take inspiration from the triumphs of history’s heroes – and I hope you will follow in their footsteps to create a better future.
There is no way to undo what happened here at Goree Island and no way to erase the stain of slavery from our nation’s past. But there is also no denying the course that history has taken since that time. Since then, we’ve seen so many brave men and women rise up against slavery and segregation – folks like Harriet Tubman who led an underground railroad to freedom; and William Wilberforce and Frederick Douglass who spent their lives speaking out against slavery; and Dr. Martin Luther King who sacrificed his life working to fulfill his dream of a more just, more free America.
People who came through this island could never have imagined how history would unfold. And they certainly could never have imagined that someone like me – a descendant of slaves – would come here with her own family, and look out through that door of no return. And maybe, in the end, that is an argument for hope even in the face of the most unspeakable horrors, because time and again – both in America and around the world – we have seen that cruelty and oppression are no match for people of conscience who commit themselves to the cause of freedom. So I hope that in your own lives, instead of being overwhelmed by the tragedies of our past, you will take inspiration from the triumphs of history’s heroes – and I hope you will follow in their footsteps to create a better future.
(Michelle Obama)
. . .
THE REST:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/27/flotus-travel-journal-visiting-goree-island
?itok=uJa-TMY6Edit history
Please sign in to view edit histories.
27 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
