THE LAST BREATH
By Audrey
I sit and look at their innocent bodies, with chains wrapped around their feet and necks. Blood is dripping. They are so close I imagine they could feel each other’s last breaths. The rocking ship sways with the weight of what’s to come. Now, the three month journey of misery and terror begins. When they leave, they see only darkness. No amount of light can change the darkness they will forever be immersed in. They are innocent, but the world does not see that. People only see the blackness of their skin. Their children will not be able to get out of the obscurity of that same darkness.
At the Apex Museum, there was a line of mannequins that represented the slave trade that served as a memorial for peoples’ lives that were brutally taken by their malicious enslavers. Seeing this memorial made me astonished that someone could have so much power over so many innocent people. It made me wonder what the victims were feeling at this moment of history. Learning about it, you understand what is happening, but seeing it, you come to a deeper realization of the pain and suffering slaves went through. The lingering image of people who have lost all of their rights, their voice and their identity has impacted the way I think about history, present times and the future. Just because slavery is not present today in the United States doesn’t mean it’s not present in other countries. We can now decide if we want to change the course of events and keep history from repeating itself.
At the Apex Museum, there was a line of mannequins that represented the slave trade that served as a memorial for peoples’ lives that were brutally taken by their malicious enslavers. Seeing this memorial made me astonished that someone could have so much power over so many innocent people. It made me wonder what the victims were feeling at this moment of history. Learning about it, you understand what is happening, but seeing it, you come to a deeper realization of the pain and suffering slaves went through. The lingering image of people who have lost all of their rights, their voice and their identity has impacted the way I think about history, present times and the future. Just because slavery is not present today in the United States doesn’t mean it’s not present in other countries. We can now decide if we want to change the course of events and keep history from repeating itself.