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by Kenneth Mckeever (Date of Birth: 13 August
21, 1983)
This trip was really a cultural experience. This
trip makes you think about the possessions you own
and what they mean to you. The most thinking I did
was when we went to Goree Island.
While at Goree Island, we visited a slave house.
There was an African curator there who explained to
us what each room meant. While walking around the
slave house, we came upon "The Doorway Of No
Return." The doorway overlooks the Atlantic Ocean
and was the spring board to a life of slavery for
millions of Africans. Just standing in the doorway.
. . so much goes through your mind it is hard to
explain.
One thing that keeps going through my mind is
that people would rather die than go through that
doorway and live the life of a slave.
I also learned from the people in Africa that
even if you do not have many possessions, as long
as you have love, that is more than enough to make
it in this life.
With this in mind I have decided that I am not
giving up on the bike club. I am not going to let
some petty differences between me and some of the
guys stand in the way of a true brothership that I
have with boys in the bike club.
I enjoyed the rest of the trip, but Goree Island
is a power point so that is what I choose mainly to
talk about.
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Osakwa
by Osaka S. Beadle
The thing that will always stand out in my mind
in our trip to Goree Island. Upon reaching the
island by ferry, its fun filled exterior hid the
intense insides that would soon be revealed to us.
Although we were all told where we were going on
the island, I don't think any of us actually knew
what it was we were going to see. The sight of
happy kids jumping into the water did a good job to
get rid of any negative thoughts about the island.
We were greeted by a man we were told was going
to be our tour guide. He told us the same thing
that we had been hearing all along, that by
visiting this place we were getting back to our
roots and finding out about our heritage. He gave
no clues or warnings to the sights we were going to
see.
We sat down to have lunch after which we all
joined on the beach to skip rocks not even thinking
that these were the same waters that our ancestors
had sailed upon years before. I'm not sure of the
correct order of events but as far as I'm concerned
it's not important whether we played basketball and
then had our lives changed forever or the other way
around.
When we reached the slave castle I noticed some
adults were looking very emotional, but I did not
know why.
From my point of view we started from the left
side and worked our way behind the two staircases
that arched toward the middle of the second level.
The first room was the holding room for the men.
The room looked a little larger than my bedroom.
Hearing the emotion in the translator's voice I
felt I should be choked up. For some reason I was
not.
I forget the number the translator mentioned for
the number of men packed in the room. Suffice it to
say that the number said was definitely more than
the worst I would have imagined. The men were allowed
to handle their needs once a day, and that was if
that person cared enough to let them. The next room
we were led to was the room where children were
kept. That was the last room I remember on the left
side.
We reached the middle, which would prove to hold
the most meaningful part of the trip for me, the
point or doorway of no return (this is in bold
because I feel whoever reads this needs to know the
full impact of the words). When we were told what
we were looking at, with the door closed, it seemed
to have no effect on me. When the door was opened,
reality struck me like a rock.
Standing in middle of the path leading up to the
door my emotions swirled inside me and once again I
wondered why I didn't cry or show any outward
emotion.
I truly understood the meaning of the name given
to the doorway. Just looking straight you could see
the Atlantic ocean, probably the same way our
ancestors saw it years ago. Upon going closer one
could see that it was truly a point of no return
with a few rocks right below and then the ocean.
While looking out at the ocean, the translator's
voice barely reached my ears as he said something
about that being the point where they were never to
return to their homeland. They would be stripped of
their African culture. I clearly remember myself
thinking, damn ...., this is what my people had to
go through ...... Then we were allowed to walk
around by ourselves.
I chose to go upstairs where the translator said
the slavers lived in luxury, sleeping over the
heads of hundreds of Africans. Leaning over the
balcony, I felt an anger inside that just took
over. I wanted to just punch the wall until I
couldn't anymore.
Next, we all gathered in the corner where we
were shown some of the shackles used. Our leader
then announced it was time to go. Once outside the
castle I put on a pseudo-happy face to try to and
cheer the others up, I then stopped, realizing that
maybe I am everyone else needed to feel whatever
emotions they had.
While leaving, once again the island's happy
exterior masked the important insides.
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Robert
Submitted by Robert Shinaul (Date of Birth:
October 10, 1984)
On Friday, February 14, 1997, I was preparing
for my trip to Africa. We went to the airport and
we left at 1:00pm for our trip to Dakar. It took 6
1/2 hours to fly from New York to Senegal. We
arrived in Senegal at 7:00pm New York time and 1:20
AM their time. We got off the plane and onto a bus
to go to our hotel.
At 10:00 AM we had an orientation meeting.
Afterwards, we went on a very interesting half day
tour Dakar. The other half of the day we went on a
trip to Goree Island, once a slave station where
Africans were shipped to the Caribbean and the
Americas. This experience helped us to learn about
our history and culture. Specifically, we learned
how black people were enslaved. It touched me a
lot. I was touched for many reasons: one reason is
that they told me how my ancestors lived as slaves.
Another reason is because it was explained to me
how the whites took over Africa and made my
ancestors live as slaves. After we left Goree
Island we went to get something to eat. Afterwards,
we went to our hotel and I went to sleep.
The next day I woke up at 10:00 AM I got dressed
and went down stairs to breakfast at the hotel.
After breakfast we went to visit "Pink Lake". It is
next to the African village of Youff. Pink Lake got
its name because the hue of the water is actually
pink.
The first time I saw the water I thought there
was something wrong with it. I asked Erik, my
director, if the water is supposed to be that
color. He explained that the water is pink because
of the overwhelming amount of salt and crustaceans
that are found in the lake. After we left the lake
we went back to the hotel and I went to sleep.
When I woke up the next day it was time for
breakfast. We ate and had a free morning to shop on
our own until about 12:00 noon. We checked out of
the hotel and departed for Banjul, Gambia; we
arrived in Banjul at 2:15 PM We went to the welcome
dinner at the hotel. Then we went to our hotel
rooms and played some games. It was a lot of fun
and then I went to bed.
The next morning I got up and went to breakfast.
We went out to a school to see how it looked. It
looked like a regular school. It was a nice school
and the children were smart. Then we went on a city
tour of Banjul and went shopping.
The next day we had lunch with the mayor of
Banjul. Other special people were there. I will
never forget them. Later that night we went to the
BUSH to become men. There were a lot of great
things to do. The same day, we had a talk with the
elders of Africa. Then we went back to the hotel.
The last day of the trip to Africa we had
breakfast at the hotel and after that we had a
basketball game against an African Basketball team.
When the game was over it was time for lunch, so we
ate. After lunch was finished, we went to visit the
Kunta Kente family in Juferee.
We had a farewell dinner. We finished eating and
started heading for the airport in Senegal. We
arrived at the airport at about 3:00 AM for our
flight.
On February 22, 1997, at 8:00 AM, we arrived at
JFK Airport in New York. I was happy to be back. I
didn't know what to do. In the airport we talked to
news reporters from Channel 11 and news station New
York One. We told them all about our trip to The
Motherland.
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Kurley
Submitted by Kerly Suffren (Date of Birth: )
My Trip to Africa
1/Rush Hour
I almost did not want to believe that this trip
would be a reality because it just seemed to good
to be true. It was a snowy/rainy morning whcih the
group had to meet up at Erik's hous. When everyone
was packed and loaded on the van, I decided to go
with Mr. Donald Brown in his car. It turned out
that we both almost missed the lane, because of
some paper work Mr. Brown had to take care of and
find, but we both indeed made it in the nick of
time.
2/ The Plane Ride
The plane ride did not at all seem to be long.
After they served lunch. I had fun bothering an d
taking pictures of everyone that was asleep. It was
strange that we were actually on the lplane to
Africa and I guess that I thought really sort of
shocks me still. I read and listened to my radio
during the time of the flight. I also walk back and
forth getting soda. the flight attendants were
really nice. They tolk us many things to expect and
the things not to expect.
3Africa/
When the plane touch ground, I felt like
afeeling of proudness running throughout my body. I
still could not believe that we had just landed in
Africa but I felt proud and youful to be there. I
was anxious to get off the plane but somehow I
maiontained my foucs and calm down. I remember
talking my first stip in Africa, and it was as I
was a baby just learning how to walk. i was so
overcome with joy just to be there that i could not
help but to act stupid and crazy. I was greatly
impressed with the way we were approacehed and
treated. I remember that all I kept hearing was "my
brohter, My brother/
I remmber being tired and just wanting to get to
the hotel. The hotel really amzed me. Beside being
beautiful it was nothein that I expected. My won
room, TV, telephone, and a beautiful overlook of
the ocean. I remmber just the feeling of happiness
that would later keep me awake throught that whole
night.
4/ Attractions SlaveHouse, Goree Island.
the ferry ride was wonderful, being in the slave
house in Africa is one of the experiences that I
would never forget. If I was a feeling of numbness
in my body a feeling of coldness when it was about
90 degrees out. When we vwere being instructed of
th harsh reality of what our ancestors went thourh,
I remmber a feeling of hatred that started to feel.
Although I kepy myself from crying, I hated the
feeling and I truly wanted to cry. To think that I
today stanking in one of the many places that the
slave, my people stood on, getting examined, beat
up, raped by the slavers, made me upset. As I
listen to the translator it was almost as if this
was a movie. In a flash, I started visualizing the
scenes. I evern heard some noise in my head and for
a moment I was really scared. For every room that I
looked into, I remember the looks on theri face and
the sars on their body. Although this scene was
tnot there physically for others to see, but to me
it was real and it's something I would never
forget. I remmber seeing most of the adults crying
and I felt pain helpless, I felt that there is
nothing I or anyone else could have done to change
and I rember myself saying "them these slave
masters".
After the instructor finished speaking, I felt
proud. I realized that my culture and my ancestors
were strong people, people of character and
toughness. I wanted to thank them for delivering me
from slavery, they went through it, so we wouldn't
have to. I remember feeling proud, and I will never
forget that feeling.
As I was leaving the slave house, I remember the
instructor saying I would preach these words until
my death and I remember hearing those words clearly
and in my heart I said thank you to the slaves as
well as the instructor.
I remember leaving that house with sadness. But
I aslo left with a sense of identity. Now I knew
what my people went through and I felt rpoud to be
part of such a strong culture. I knew that visit
was going tobe emotional but that emotion just
built on to my character, and that visit to the
slave house touched my life and my soul. It made me
visualize the dumb things I use to do and it made
me see that I should try to become a better black
young man. As I left that slave house. I left with
the strength of my ancestors and the wisdom of my
elders. and I know my mission wasn't over and i
wont' be until I make my ancestors proud, because
they have made me proud
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Kareem
Submitted by Kerly Suffren (Date of Birth: )
First, I would like to thank Eric and Mr. Brown
for giving me the opportunity to visit our homeland
of Africa. I would also like to thank the members
of the Urban Youth Bike Corp. for accepting me as a
member.
I would like to start off my talking about
probably the most important part of the trip, which
was the boat ride to Goree Island. We went on a
boat ride to
Goree Island to see the Slave House, where many
of our ancestors were held. When we arrived at the
Slave House, I didn't think it would affect me at
all. When I heard we were going to the Slave House,
I thought it was going to be just another place in
Africa for us to see. Listening to the caregiver
explain how our people were treated, I couldn't
help getting a little choked up. He told us how
some of the women had to have sex with their
masters to get their freedom. He told us how people
were thrown into small cages no matter how many
people were already in there. He showed us, "The
Door of No Return," that was a doorway that led to
a bunch of rocks and the ocean. The title literally
means what is says, when people went through that
door, they either [went on the ships], drowned or
they were eaten by the sharks.
I think the trip to the Slave House was
important because when people think of slavery,
they automatically think of the South. They
probably don't think of the people who were brought
here on ships and taken to the Southern States. If
other people come to Africa, and go to the Slave
House, it would bring tears to their eyes, too,
especially if they thought about it. If slavery
never happened, they would be living in Africa,
too.
Also on the trip to Goree Island, we played
basketball against some of the Senegalese kids. On
the boat ride over, some of them challenged us to a
game. First, the smaller kids played, and then we
played, but both games had the same result. We lost
very badly, scoring only on e basket in both games.
The people in Africa treated us well. They were
so happy to see us. I was so surprised, they didn't
even know us but they treated us as if we were
royalty or something. Living in New York, if you
didn't know someone, you usually don't speak to
them. In Africa, everyone was friendly, everyone
was smiling at us. Everyone said hello to us. Some
of the people were kind of annoying though. They
followed our bus in cabs, trying to sell us statues
and other things. At first, it was like we were
movie stars. After a while, it wasn't cool anymore.
In The Gambia, it was different. The people were
still happy to see us, but they didn't beg us, and
if we gave them something, they were very
appreciative.
In Gambia, we went to their Independance Day Parade held in a stadium. We sat a couple of rows
behind the President. It was kid of nice, too,
because in the States, we would have never gotten
that close to a President. We saw his secret
service men, with their trench coats and
sunglasses. Their military people marched around on
the field, and let off a couple of shots. Then the
kids from several schools marched around the
stadium. I think we were supposed to march too, but
we got there late.
In Senegal, we saw a few white people, but in
Gambia, we saw a lot of them in the hotel. At the
pool, some of the women there were sunbathing
topless. Some were in the pool. But, when we got in
the pool, the white people got out. Later, some of
them complained to the hotel manager that we were
rowdy or whatever. I talked to one of the pool
workers about the women not wearing tops. He told m
that there are not as many laws in Africa as there
in the U.S. You can do almost anything you want, as
long as you are not hurting or offending anyone
else.
I had a lot of fun on this trip once I loosened
up, and gotten used to the guys. I would recommend
that others have the opportunity to make the
pilgrimage to Africa as the other members and I
have. I think people will be surprised to see that
Africans don't all live in huts and villages like
they see on television. They will be surprised to
see how civilized they live.
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