By Ryan Larsen

Yesterday, I was leader of the day again. We spent most of the day on Goree Island, off the coast of Dakar. Goree is famous for the Door of No Return, which was where millions of slaves were transported through on their way to the New World in the Atlantic Slave Trade. It’s called the Door of No Return because countless soon-to-be slaves stepped through it on their way to the ship which would take them from their home continent for the rest of their lives.

Upon stepping through the Door, I think everyone in our group felt the immense power of the thoughts overwhelming us. Standing there, thinking, millions of people were sent through here, forever stripped from their families and cultures, to slave away for the people of the New World. With this thought in mind, it feels contradictory to have called the Americas the “New World.”

How can you call it a new, more modern, more “free” world when countless people were sent there to slave away for their entire lives, forever stripped of their basic human rights? How could the people of the original 13 colonies of the U.S. come to North America for a brighter future where everyone is supposed to be free, and then enslave people purely based on the color of their skin? What was their reasoning? Wasn’t the New World supposed to be a land of prosperity and bright futures? I don’t know if anyone really has an answer to any of these questions, but, in the end, there might be a bright side.

Earlier, CJ, the only African-American on the trip, provided a bright and interesting perspective. He said that despite the dark past of Goree and the Atlantic Slave Trade, there is a bright side. If his ancestors didn’t go through Slavery, he probably wouldn’t be able to be sitting with us on this incredible trip today, he might not have been getting a good education with Christchurch, and he might not have gotten the same opportunities that have sprouted from the society that people of all races have built in the past centuries.

In other words, even when it comes to atrocities like slavery, bright sides can still be found. That’s what I want everyone to remember. It’s always important to think of different perspectives, because even in complete darkness, light can sometimes still be found. 

We mustn’t forget the darkness, we must keep looking for the light.