Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America

The combined forces of resilience and creativity in Black American culture are the main focus of Black AF History. Harriot illustrates how, from the very beginnings of African captives enslaved in America to the current Black Lives Matter movement, the Black American community meets overwhelming oppression with cleverness, skill, and resilience. From the brutalities of slavery to the ongoing struggles against systemic racism, Black individuals and communities have continuously demonstrated their ability to not only survive but thrive through resilience and creativity.

The resilience displayed by enslaved Africans who endured the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade continued in the independent Gullah Geechee community, formed from disparate West African captives. Relatively unbothered by their white enslavers, these highly skilled farmers and cattle herders formed their own culture and unique American dialect called Geechee, which influences American English with its West African vocabulary. Since the beginning of slavery in America, enslaved people have resisted and revolted against it, sometimes joining with Indigenous Americans to defeat their white enslavers and other times using violence to escape and protect themselves. Despite the fantastical myths about “content” or passive enslaved people in the South, Black enslaved people always fought for their survival through varied and ingenious means.