Summary Of Lose Your Mother By Saidiya Hartman

Through the analysis of scholarly work, one can decipher that to be a slave meant to be a stranger in your own skin. Hence, when the African people were stripped of their identities and torn from their homeland, it created a rift in the connection with their own African heritage. Asphyxiating under the strong hold of oppression, the African community was unable to express their true customs in attempt to keep a connection with their homeland afloat. However, as black individuals began to break from the chains of slavery and reform their identities, the closer they inched toward the reconnection to their kin. Specifically, Saidiya Hartman’s work, Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route, showcases the struggles within herself to attain a sense of belonging and connection. As Hartman is a direct “descendant of the enslaved,” she was adamant in reclaiming the connection that was severed during the perils of forcible migration. Significantly, in her work she provided a letter from Issac, who spoke of the consequence of being a slave. He pinpoints, that due to the slave trade, “[people] lose [their] mothers,” which in turn is a substantial catalyst in losing the connection with their history. Losing one’s mother symbolizes forgetting where …show more content…
For instance, just recently the very first museum of African American history has opened its doors to the world. The purpose of this museum was to showcase the artifacts and fundamental moments from African history. The establishment of this museum supports the theme of reconnection because its allows for the black individuals of the modern age to connect back to the their past. This is crucial to the development of taking back what was lost to the African American people and continuing to educate those who are lie under the blanket of