All Water Has a Perfect Memory
excerpts from Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martínez’s “Wake”
--
I look for their testimony
I find this:
June 13: “died a girl Slave №9.”
June 14: “died a Woman №10.”
June 15: “died a Man Slave №11.”
[T]he decisions they made
and why they made them:
keep them in coffle
onboard a slave ship
keep a close eye on them
fetch a good price
But we are strong
Dahomey warriors
hard to contain
jump overboard
fight back all the time
This is ancestry in progress
it is our superpower
our way out of no way
so too is our resilience
We must use our haunting
and see how it could be
otherwise
***
This piece is composed solely out of phrases taken randomly from “Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts”, a book written by Rebecca Hall (2021) and illustrated by Hugo Martínez. As a comic book buff, I picked up a copy of “Wake” from the LOATAD library, while attending the WAW Residency in June this year. “Wake” was such a good read that I had to buy myself a copy, to read all over again.
In “Wake”, Hall provides us with historic account as powerful testimony of Black women’s resilience and resistance during slavery, including their central roles in slave revolts carried out during the middle passage and in the Americas. Of key importance to this story of Black women’s leadership, is the renowned defiance and military skill of women warriors, from the Dahomey kingdom, who were also amongst the captives. The scope of these women’s fighting ability and fortitude is something we will hopefully get to learn much more about in the highly anticipated movie, The Woman King, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (2022) and starring Viola Davis.
If you can get a copy of “Wake”, read it; and then go watch “The Woman King”, upon its arrival on 16 September. It is most definitely on my watch list!
***
Thanks for reading this little piece of mine. Hope you enjoyed it.
There are plenty more good reads on Medium, so do become a member if you can. With your annual membership, you get to read any piece of work that tickles your fancy — while also supporting its author.
You can use my referral link to join Medium — if you please.
