Prince among Slaves

“I hate it when they tell us how far we came to be, as if our peoples history started with slavery.” Immortal Technique

Prince Among Slaves is a fascinating account of the life of Abdul Rahman, an African prince captured in West Africa and sold into slavery. What distinguishes this story from other slave narratives is the insight it provides into Abdul Rahman’s life before slavery.

Born to the King of Futa-Jaloo, the capital city of Timbo (West Africa), Abdul Rahman was an educated man living in a well developed African society. He was captured in 1788 and transported to the American South, where he was forced to work on a cotton plantation for a poor farmer in Mississippi. He spent the next 40 years in slavery until he was eventually emancipated at the age of 66.

This interesting documentary – conveniently screened at AGC before the opening ceremony of the World Cup in South Africa – reminded us of what Africa once was, and the noble traits of the African people, embodied in the inspiring Prince, Abdul Rahman.

The group de-brief with Imam Afroz after the screening directed us to consider how we as individuals and a community can work to assist the people of Africa. Br. Afroz reflected on our contribution to the plight of Africans, both positive and negative, and helped us understand how we can work to improve their situation.

All in all it was a wonderful evening. Getting together with the Muslim community and sharing some coffee, cake and a carefully selected documentary, is an excellent way to spend a Saturday night.

The next AGC documentary screens on Saturday the 31st of July. Details can be found here:

http://alghazzali.org/events/xpresso_dirt_themovie

Thanks to Kal for this review on Prince Amoung Slaves