Healing Waters

The Richmond port and Shockoe district as the center of trade and commerce were made possible by sea vessels that brought all types of cargo via the James River.  It was a station of refuge and nourishment. Many of the enslaved found freedom on the high seas. For example, Madison Washington and 19 others successfully orchestrated a rebellion from the Creole Ship that left Richmond to the Bahamas, where they were warmly sheltered by Africans who had previously found freedom. Madison Washington's story is but one of thousands that validates sovereign pathways and humanitarian strength.

There was significant trade with Africans along the James River, to the Atlantic and the coastlines of Africa. As ships brought Africans to the Americas, planes are returning the Diaspora to their homelands. Africa is Everywhere truly, but there are strong examples of reunification, such as the Pan African province of Shashemene where the expatriate population has grown by more than 2000% in the last decade to over 102,000 people. Whether the James or the Nile, we can find healing and magic in the waters. It time for our people to wade in the waters to wherever home is. 

Thank you for traveling with us in the realm of AfroCity. We hope you experienced a different level of consciousness about this landscape of the Maafa. Never forget the past. Never forget that there was an African legacy long before the Virginia experience. Humanity began in the Southside of Africa, and in the Southside shall humanity be reborn again.