Day 2-Goree Island

Todays trip was tough. I had such a range of emotions that it is hard to put into words. I will have to upload the video amd images later. The history of knowing that I stood in a cell where my ancestors stood was powerful, they spoke of the cell for virgin women, children and men who were less than 130 lbs. they would be taken to another cell and forced to eat until they weighed enough. The virgins were chosen by the guards and hoped to get pregnant. If they did, they were freed because of the child that would have had lighter skin. It is difficult for me to wrap my brain around the notion that they would actually try to get chosen to be raped by the guard. The "door of no return" was where I finally lost all composure. This is the door where the slaves boarded the boat for the middle passage. Many slaves chose to jump into the ocean and be eaten by sharks. They sharks would actually follow the boats waiting for them to throw a sick slave overboard. Standing in that doorway was tough for me. I really felt the pain of my ancestors. They didn't know where they were going or for what. They were husbands, wives, kings, queens! They had families. That doorway changed a nation of people and many countries. The effects are still present today. On another note, it has been an eye opening experience for some of my colleagues who have never been