On January 27, 2012, the Turkish Cultural Center brought together three esteemed panelists to discuss the importance of the movie Prince Among Slaves in order to analyze the self-understanding for Black/African American youth. This particular movie focuses on the life of a victim of the slave trade, Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori. The issue of self- preservation and sense of self is discussed in the panel by Dr. Michael Gomez, Mr. Eric Tait and Mr. Yusuf Ramadan. This particular issue, and background information on Prince Rahman, was first alluded to by Dr. Gomez, who provided the necessary context for the film before the film's viewing. We learn that Prince Rahman was originally a native of Guinea who was forcibly brought over to America despite his royal background. We also learn from Dr. Gomez that from the 15th to the 19th centuries, of all the Africans brought over to America there were tens of thousands of Muslims, which is important in the quest for finding one's own identity in the African American community. Further on in the discussion, a documentarian by trade, Mr. Eric Tait gives us an overview of the actual impact of slavery on the enslaved and enslavement's effects on self- identity and sense of self. According to Mr. Tait, Prince Among Slaves, "gives a graphic example of the strata of the people enslaved." These were individuals that tried to maintain their identity, despite the enormity of the negative circumstances they found themselves in in a foreign ...

• published: 17 Feb 2012
• views: 806
• author: turkishcenter