Tragedy is big and tragedy is small

Today we launched our investigation of slavery and for the next few weeks we will walk the line between diving deep into the enormous tragedy that was slavery for millions and the personal tragedy of slavery.  Our inquiry begins with this video: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_history_of_american_slavery/2015/06/animated_interactive_of_the_history_of_the_atlantic_slave_trade.html
The Transatlantic Slave Trade in 2 minutes.  
I used PearDeck to ensure all students demonstrated curiosity and asked questions without being afraid to share in front of the class.
Then we looked through the database of names at  https://www.slavevoyages.org/resources/names-database  
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My instruction was simple: As you look through these names something will make you feel a connection - an age, a name. Share that name with the class. Share this person's age and let's keep them in the forefront of our mind as we try to understand the tragic impact on that person, on the family they left behind, the community, the nation,  and the continent.

For me and for many of my students today it was not the 13 year olds that they could relate to or that they wondered about, it was the 7 year olds, the 5 year olds, and the 4 year olds.

They asked great questions about the impact on Africa of losing so many people.  "Was there anyone left?"  I reminded them of the enormous size of Africa and the diversity of peoples but that even with all that diversity, yes, of course this had a huge impact.  Hundreds of years of the slave trade and the years of colonization. 

Studying historic slavery and the story of the over 25 million humans still enslaved today is why I believe we must fight for all kids' rights, not just the rights of the students whose lives we touch.

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