I visited coastal Georgia this summer and spent a good amount of time considering the water there and the ships that came in to port there; I haven't traced back to where the slaves in my family were delivered, but I presume it was the South since everyone lived in the South. Alex and I went to a place that had brochures for everything from swimming with the dolphins to haunted graveyard tours. I came across a map of African American history and decided to follow it. Nothing on the map was marked in any way whatsoever-- as a result we had a hard time finding anything. The most resonant place was one I couldn't even see because it was located on gated property. It was a bay on St. Simon's Island that welcomed ships. One such ship came in and docked, and as this was happening, the slaves aboard the ship began drowning themselves. The brochure claimed approximately 1,000 fatalities. I can't help believing that it wasn't fatal at all, that it was brave and it was strong. I understand that it was incredibly violent, but I believe it also to be very, very powerful; no more violent than indentured slavery would have become. It seems like I can't shake this story. Turns out this story is told up and down the coast of the South, and has become a common story in local mythology; I wonder where it really happened. I wonder what the reactions were. Were there accidental survivors?
