This text set is designed as a counternarrative to the Middle Passage and the transatlantic slave trade as the singular origin story for Africans in what is now the United States [and the Americas.] Many Africans/people of African descent migrated to the Americas not only in chains but also as sailors or linguists on commercial ships. For those who were enslaved, their stories did not always end in slavery. The migration patterns of these individuals during the 16th century include free seamen who voyaged alongside Balboa, Dorantes de Carranza, and Jesuit missionaries to North and South America. Also of note are African leaders who lived and organized amongst indigenous Americans, and those who were not slaves, but in fact settled free communities along the eastern seaboard from New York to Florida. These text and media resources are curated to recover some of the erased history of the African diaspora and migration of people of African descent to the United States. The subsequent text set includes examples of the aforementioned narratives for use as reference material and resources for K-12 educators.
