Dozens gather at Fort Monroe to commemorate enslaved who perished during Middle Passage
A procession of nearly 100 people, many dressed in traditional African clothing, cast flowers into the surf Saturday at Fort Monroe in honor of enslaved Africans who died during the perilous Middle Passage across the Atlantic Ocean.
When it was finished, hundreds of brightly colored flowers peppered the shoreline.
“We are here for the ones who didn’t make it. We’re here to tell those untold histories,” said Chadra Pittman, one of the organizers of the Sankofa International Day of Remembrance.
An annual event for more than a decade in Hampton Roads, it commemorates the estimated 1.8 million enslaved people who perished during the voyage across the Atlantic.
Typically held at Buckroe Beach, the ceremony was held for the first time at Fort Monroe National Monument in partnership with the Hampton History Museum and the National Parks Service. The first enslaved Africans arrived to North America at Fort Monroe in 1619. It was designated as a “Site of Memory Associated to the Slave Route” by UNESCO in 2021.
“As we reflect on over 400 years of history, it’s important to remember not only the landing of the 20-odd captive Africans of 1619, or the 12.5 million Africans forced into labor in the Atlantic world, but the millions who did not survive the Middle Passage,” said a National Parks Service employee, speaking on behalf of Superintendent Eola Dance.
Pittman said she felt honored to lead the event at such a significant historical monument.
“Millions perished,” she said. “Their bones are laying at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. And they never got a proper burial. So, ‘Remembrance’ is the funeral they never received. It felt appropriate to bring this tradition to these sacred grounds.”
There was singing, dancing and drumming, and poetry was read and speeches delivered during the three-hour event at the rocky shoreline of Outlook Beach. Just over 90 people attended.
Danielle Woods, a native of Louisiana who recently moved to Hampton, said she believes her ancestors first arrived at Fort Monroe before being taken to New Orleans.
“I came today to honor my ancestors,” Woods said.
Amelia Hodges, an event participant, called the ceremony “a moving, educational experience.”
Hodges said she was one of the first African American students to attend an integrated school in Gloucester County. She said students at that time were taught very little about the history of enslaved people or the Atlantic slave trade.
“We need to learn the truth to know who we really were,” Hodges said.
Daniel Berti, daniel.berti@virginiamedia.com
