DEFINING NEW APPROACHES FOR TEACHING THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND SLAVERY
Teaching African History and African Diaspora History
International Workshop
November 5-7, 2010
Hosted By
The Harriet Tubman Institute
SPONSORS
The UNESCO “Slave Route” Project
Canadian Commission for UNESCO
Programa del Olvido a la Memoria, UNESCO-Universidad de Costa Rica
Hundreds of millions of people of African descent who live in different societies across the world
trace their history back to Africa. Nonetheless, there is still a profound silence in the curricula and the
manuals of primary and secondary schools about the crucial historical events that shaped modern
societies, especially the slavery of millions of Africans. However, new educational techniques and
greater accessibility to teaching materials, in large part prompted by UNESCO initiatives, have helped
to break the “chain of silence” and to prompt curricular reform that allows students access to
knowledge about this past. The common goal of the initiatives that have been undertaken in different
regions of the world is to contribute to a better understanding of the slavery of millions of people and
the social consequences of racism. The implications affect the interactions among peoples in the
present global world. Breaking the silence requires more than confronting the history of slavery; it
requires teaching African history.
The purpose of the Workshop is to provide a forum where experts can share experiences in
developing pedagogic materials and innovative strategies to teach about the slave trade and slavery
and the heritage of Africa in the diaspora of the Americas.
Besides reviewing the ways the African legacy have been presented, or not, the objective is to
analyze all materials that are used in schools that relate to teaching national, regional, and global
history and explore how the teaching program of history, literature, and the social studies at the
primary and secondary levels can be improved. In particular, the Workshop aims to assess the
methodologies used so far in different regions of the world and, based on the lessons learnt, discuss
new approaches to be developed in order to enhance the pedagogy of teaching the history of
Africans and their descendents and the resilience of African culture in the global diaspora, despite the
legacy of slavery.
1
The Workshop provides an opportunity to share the work at UNESCO to promote a better study of
history that began with the publication of General and Regional Histories. The pedagogic use of the
General History of Africa will be analysed in such regard. The participants will be invited to define
guidelines facilitating the preparation of a general framework for lobbying action to convince
Ministries of Education to foster and integrate the teaching of the African History and the
transatlantic slave trade and slavery into school curricula. The emphasis will be on the contributions
of Africans and their descendants in the development and enrichment of the contemporary world.
Besides cultural interactions generated by the slave trade and slavery among peoples of different
continents, this encounter, marked by extreme violence and barbarism has caused multifaceted
injuries that are passed down from generation to generation among the descendents of the different
actors/victims of this tragedy (both the descendants of slaves and the descendants of former
enslavers as well). This imprint is still rooted in traumatic experiences faced today and could explain
certain behaviour and social relations in post slavery societies.
The need to further explore the psychological and psycho-social development of the slave trade and
slavery is therefore essential. The complexity of behaviour and relationships that punctuate life in
multicultural societies mark this history. It is also recognized that many people of African descent in
the Americas and in Africa want to emphasize the great achievements of developing the Americas
and enriching the musical, artistic and literary cultures of the world.
The Workshop addresses teachers and pedagogues who are involved in implementing curriculum on
the slave trade, slavery, the legacy of Africa in the Americas, and the achievements of the African
Diaspora. Historians, decision-makers in curriculum planning, users of pedagogic materials, and
professionals and decisions makers in charge of public services will discuss the psychological
consequences of the slave trade, slavery and racism as a factor in learning.
This Workshop is organized within the UNESCO framework designating 2010 International Year for
the Rapprochement of Cultures and also paves the way for 2011, which has been designated
International Year for People of African Descent.1
1
United Nations Resolution A/RES/64/169, adopted in November 2009.
2
INVITED PARTICIPANTS
Jaime Arocha, Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Hilary Beckles, Principal, University of the West Indies, Barbados
Benjamin Paul Bowser, California State University, USA
Yvonne Brown, Harriet Tubman Institute
Katrina Browne, Tracing Center on Histories and Legacies of Slavery, USA
Jhon Picard Byron, Universite d’ Etat, Haiti
Rina Cáceres, Universidad de Costa Rica
Quince Duncan, International Scientific Committee, UNESCO “Slave Route” Project, Costa Rica
Darío A. Euraque, Trinity College, USA (Honduras)
Nicolas Evans, WISE, University of Hull, UK
Abubakar Fofana, York University (Cuba)
Kevin Franklin, I-CHASS, University of Illinois
Michael Gomez, New York University and UNESCO “Slave Route” Project
Larry Higginbottom, Osiris Group, USA
Thando Hyman-Aman, Toronto Schools, Canada
Ali Moussa Iye, Intercultural Dialogue Section, UNESCO
Michele Johnson, The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
Arlene Keizer, University of California, Irvine, USA
Monica Lima Souza, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Paul Lovejoy, The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
Shannon Prince, Buxton National Historic Site and Museum, Buxton Canada
Monica Regisford-Douglin, Trinidad and Tobago National Commission for UNESCO
Dominique Rogers, EURESCL, Martinique
Viviane Rolle-Romana, Université Paris 8 Saint-Denis, France
Suzanne Schwarz, Liverpool Hope University, UK
Ibrahima Seck, Université Cheikh Anta Diop Senegal
Verene Shepherd, University of the West Indies, Jamaica
Karolyn Smardz Frost, The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
Juliette Sméralda, Université des Antilles de la Guyane
Marie-Albane de Suremain, EURESCL, France
Lennox K. Thomas, Institute of Family Therapy, USA
Thomas Thurston, Gilder Lehrman Center, Yale University, USA
David V. Trotman, Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
Maria Elisa Velazquez, International Scientific Committee, UNESCO “Slave Route” Project, Mexico
Sheila Walker, Afrodiaspora, Inc., USA
WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS
Paul Lovejoy, The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
Rina Caceres, Universidad de Costa Rica
Ali Moussa Iye, Intercultural Dialogue Section, UNESCO
SPONSORS
The UNESCO “Slave Route” Project
Canadian Commission for UNESCO
Programa del Olvido a la Memoria, UNESCO-Universidad de Costa Rica
The Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the Global Migrations of African Peoples
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DEFINING NEW APPROACHES FOR TEACHING THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND SLAVERY
Teaching African History and African Diaspora History
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 5TH
9:30
OPENING SESSION:
Chair: Paul Lovejoy, Director, The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
 Mamdouh Shoukri, President and Vice-Chancellor, York University
 Alysouk Lynhiavu, Public Affairs Officer, Canadian Commission for UNESCO,
Coordinator, National Secretariat, UNESCO Associated Schools Network
 Jonathan C. Edmondson, Chair, Department of History, York University
 Ali Moussa Iye, Coordinator, UNESCO “Slave Route” Project
10:00 PANEL 1: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE SLAVE TRADE AND SLAVERY
Chair: Michael Gomez, UNESCO Slave Route Project
 Viviane Rolle-Romana, University of Paris 8 Saint-Denis, The findings of the study
commissioned by UNESCO on the psychological consequences of the slave trade
and slavery
 Larry Higginbottom, Director of Osiris Group, Boston: Post Traumatic Slavery
Disorder: Theory and Practice
 Lennox K. Thomas, Psychotherapist, Institute of Family Therapy: Parenting Roles
and the African Caribbean Man in Post Slavery Society
12:30 LUNCH
2:00
PANEL 2: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE SLAVE TRADE AND SLAVERY II
Chair: Monica Regisford-Douglin, Trinidad &Tobago National Commission for UNESCO
 Juliette Sméralda, Université des Antilles de la Guyane: Peau noire, cheveu crépu :
histoire des traumatismes identitaires
 Benjamin Paul Bowser, Associate Professor of Sociology and Social Services,
California State University, Hayward: Impact of Racism on White Americans
 Arlene Keizer, University of California, Irvine: Reflections upon Trauma in
Literature and Visual Art
4:30
SCREENING: “TRACES OF THE TRADE: A STORY FROM THE DEEP NORTH”

7:00
Katrina Browne, Tracing Center on Histories and Legacies of Slavery, Boston,
“The Consequences of Slavery on Descendants of Slavers”
DINNER: WORKSHOP PRESENTERS AND INVITED GUESTS
Performance by Moussou Folila: Moussou Folia is an all-female group of seven drummers
who span cultures and generations. We are mothers, daughters, teachers, and students... but
above all we are sisters who love the djembe and the traditional rhythms of the Mandeng
people of West Africa. The group strives to embody the essence of the traditions we have
learned - to bring people together in joy, and to inspire others to seek that joy within
themselves. The group was formed by Anna Melnikoff in April 2010, in response to the 2010
theme for the Muhtadi International Drumming Festival – Celebrating Women in Rhythm. The
group consists of seven members: Janelle Belgrave, Alice Sellwood, Sokhna Dior-Cisse, Christine
Parker, Alexandra Semakula, Deanna Lopinto, and Anna Melnikoff.
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DEFINING NEW APPROACHES FOR TEACHING THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND SLAVERY
Teaching African History and African Diaspora History
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 6TH
9:00
PANEL 3: AFRICANS, THE AFRICAN DIASPORA, AND SLAVERY IN THE CURRICULUM: LATIN AMERICA
Chair: Rina Cáceres, Universidad de Costa Rica
 Monica Lima Souza, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
 Jaime Arocha, Universidad Nacional de Colombia
 Abubakar Fofana, The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
 Darío A. Euraque, Trinity College/ UNESCO Oficina Regional para Centroamérica
 Quince Duncan, UNESCO “Slave Route” Project
12.30 LUNCH
2:00
PANEL 4: AFRICANS, THE AFRICAN DIASPORA, AND SLAVERY IN THE CURRICULUM: EUROPE & NORTH AMERICA
Chair: David Trotman, The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
 Thomas Thurston, Gilder Lehrman Center, Yale University
 Sheila Walker, Afrodiaspora, Inc.
 Suzanne Schwarz, Liverpool Hope University
 Nicolas Evans, Wilberforce Institute, University of Hull
4:30
SCREENING: “SLAVE ROUTES: A GLOBAL VISION”

5:30
Sheila Walker, Afrodiaspora, Inc.
VIRTUAL SEMINAR (IN CAMERA)
Chair: Kevin Franklin, I-CHASS, University of Illinois
 Monica Lima Souza, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
 Karolyn Smardz Frost, The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
 Rina Cáceres, Universidad de Costa Rica
 Jhon Picard Byron, Université d’ Etat, Haiti
7:30
RECEPTION AND DINNER: WORKSHOP PRESENTERS AND INVITED GUESTS
Entertainment by:
“Peace Concept” Jeff Gunn and Janelle Belgrave
After Dinner Talk:
The Honourable Jean Augustine, Fairness Commissioner for the Province of Ontario
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DEFINING NEW APPROACHES FOR TEACHING THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND SLAVERY
Teaching African History and African Diaspora History
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 7TH
9:30
PANEL 5: AFRICANS, THE AFRICAN DIASPORA, AND SLAVERY IN THE CURRICULUM: CANADIAN EXPERIENCES
Chair: Yvonne Brown, The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
 Shannon Prince, Buxton Historical Site and Museum, North Buxton, Ontario
 Thando Hyman-Aman, Toronto Schools
 Karolyn Smardz Frost, The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
 Michele Johnson, The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
11:30 PANEL 6: AFRICANS, THE AFRICAN DIASPORA, AND SLAVERY IN THE CURRICULUM: EXPÉRIENCE FRANCOPHONÉ
Chair: Olabiyi Yai, UNESCO
 Dominique Rogers, EURESCL
 Jhon Picard Byron, Université d’ Etat, Haiti
 Marie-Albane de Suremain, EURESCL
1:00
LUNCH
2:00
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Chair: Ali Moussa Iye, Intercultural Dialogue Section, UNESCO
 Maria Elisa Velazquez, UNESCO Slave Route Project
 Quince Duncan, UNESCO Slave Route Project
 Paul E. Lovejoy, UNESCO Slave Route Project
3:30
DEPARTURE
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