On last Friday, the group visited Gorée, which is a small island about 2 miles of the western most point of Dakar. Gorée is also where countless slaves were held before they made the trek through the Middle Passage during the Atlantic slave trade. On the island, I experienced a collision of complex emotions. The island itself is absolutely beautiful, and the view that one has when standing on top of the cliff will leave you speechless. The immense magnificence that the island possesses, however, seemingly juxtaposes its ugly past. As I stood in one of the tiny cells where men, women, and children were packed like cattle, I looked out of one of the cracks in the brick wall and saw the vast beauty of the Atlantic Ocean. It was a cruel paradox. It was a powerful experience, walking from cell to cell, knowing that quite possibly, some of my ancestors may have been held on this very island before being shipped off to the United States. To think that this was the last they would have seen of their homeland made my heart plunge. Nonetheless, it was a good and in I think necessary experience for me to have.
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