The Glory Field

The Glory Field begins in July 1753, off the coast of Sierra Leone, West Africa. Muhammad Bilal, elevenyearsold, and the family’s earliest known ancestor, has been kidnapped from his village and is being held captive, shackled at the ankles in the bowels of a ship. He is held there for thirty-six days before the ship even sets sail. Muhammad has been captured with other Africans, including men and women from his own village, and they are to be sold on as slaves. They make the journey across the Atlantic Ocean, eventually arriving in America. Food is minimal, and they are only given water twice a day. Despite pain, hunger, and thirst, Muhammad survives the voyage, which ends at Curry Island, South Carolina. Many of his countrymen do not survive. He yearns to be free again and wonders what fate befell his parents: “He thought of Saran, his mother, and of Odebe, his father. He did not know if they were alive or dead, if the screams he heard on that dark night had come from their sweet lips” (6-7).