The Second Middle Passage

November 20, 2020

|In Black History in Two Minutes (or so), Season 1

Be Woke Presents Black History in Two Minutes (or so)

As the United States began to expand, the demand for cotton led to an increase of slave trades in the country. Eager to capitalize, slave owners sold slaves into the deep south and west in the name of expanding the economy.

Chained and shackled together, black families were uprooted, disrupted and forced to start again in the name of preparing for white civilization. The domestic slave trade mimicked patterns of shattering families in Africa, all the while placing financial gain before humanity. In total, nearly one million black slaves were sold during this time, lasting up until the Civil War.

In this episode of Black History In Two Minutes or So hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr., with additional commentary from Hasan Jeffries of Ohio State University and Vincent Brown of Harvard University, we explore the second middle passage, a forced migration meant to support the booming cotton industry and westward expansion, all the while continuing the cycle of tearing black families apart for fiscal gain.

Black History in Two Minutes (or so) is a 4x Webby Award winning series.

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Archival Materials Courtesy of:
• Library of Congress
• The New York Public Library
• Getty Images

Executive Producers:
• Robert F. Smith
• Henry Louis Gates Jr.
• Dyllan McGee
• Deon Taylor

Produced by:
• William Ventura
• Romilla Karnick

Music By:
• Oovra Music

Be Woke presents is brought to you by Robert F. Smith and Deon Taylor.

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