PBS documentary about African prince who became a Mississippi slave
In 1977, millions of TV viewers tuned in to the miniseries version of Alex Haley's Roots, the story of a young man taken from his West African village to work as a slave on a southern plantation. But while the nation's attention was riveted on the depiction of Haley's family tree, the piquing of interest in America's shameful history didn't translate to many other accounts of the transatlantic slave trade.
One of those accounts was a book published that same year, Prince Among Slaves, which chronicled the fate of a young royal heir from present-day Guinea named Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori, who ended up a slave in Mississippi. Its author, historian Terry Alford, came across the story in old deed books while doing graduate research in Mississippi. To Alford's chagrin, the book was largely panned by local academics, and its story remained in relative obscurity. Though it has remained in print since its release, Alford admits that the dramatization of Haley's novel had burned many out on the subject. "No sour grapes," Alford told TIME, acknowledging that Roots absorbed much of the day's attention on black history subjects. "But the seeds had been sown for that year."
Three decades later, the amazing, nearly lost tale of an African royal forced into slavery will finally get its due as the basis of a PBS documentary premiering Monday.
The documentary [Prince Among Slaves], told through several reenactments, relates the story from Rahman's own perspective. "The story really has been obscure, but it shed light on a part of African American history that I'd never really heard about," co-executive producer Alex Kronemer explained, saying the story diffuses widely held stereotypes. "West African societies were well-developed and literate, but people think of them as primitive and vulnerable. But now we know African history doesn't start at zero."
In 1788, Rahman, who was also a military commander, was captured by his enemies, sold to slave traders and eventually taken to a plantation near Natchez, Mississippi, where he spent the next 40 years using his agricultural and management skills to turn its owner into one of the wealthiest men in the antebellum South. ...
Read entire article at Time
One of those accounts was a book published that same year, Prince Among Slaves, which chronicled the fate of a young royal heir from present-day Guinea named Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori, who ended up a slave in Mississippi. Its author, historian Terry Alford, came across the story in old deed books while doing graduate research in Mississippi. To Alford's chagrin, the book was largely panned by local academics, and its story remained in relative obscurity. Though it has remained in print since its release, Alford admits that the dramatization of Haley's novel had burned many out on the subject. "No sour grapes," Alford told TIME, acknowledging that Roots absorbed much of the day's attention on black history subjects. "But the seeds had been sown for that year."
Three decades later, the amazing, nearly lost tale of an African royal forced into slavery will finally get its due as the basis of a PBS documentary premiering Monday.
The documentary [Prince Among Slaves], told through several reenactments, relates the story from Rahman's own perspective. "The story really has been obscure, but it shed light on a part of African American history that I'd never really heard about," co-executive producer Alex Kronemer explained, saying the story diffuses widely held stereotypes. "West African societies were well-developed and literate, but people think of them as primitive and vulnerable. But now we know African history doesn't start at zero."
In 1788, Rahman, who was also a military commander, was captured by his enemies, sold to slave traders and eventually taken to a plantation near Natchez, Mississippi, where he spent the next 40 years using his agricultural and management skills to turn its owner into one of the wealthiest men in the antebellum South. ...