We had a very sobering trip to two of the oldest slave castles in Western Africa, Elmina Castle and the Cape Coast Castle, this weekend. These 500-year-old castles saw the worst of human behavior. The dungeons that we went in to were too dark, too hot and too small to hold the 70,000 men and women that passed through “the door of no return” each year. From capture to auction in the America’s, only ten percent of the slaves survived. Those who made the first leg of the journey to the castle lived with hundreds of other captives in cells with floors covered in feces, urine, vomit and blood six centimeter thick. They were held under these conditions for over three months. I know these pictures cannot do what we experienced justice, but I hope you can take something away from them nonetheless.
July 4, 2011
The Slave Castles
Joyce Fisher
July 5, 2011 — 5:03 pm
Hi Michael,
I was already convinced you were an artist, and then I saw these. Wow! There is something so haunting and beautiful about your black & white photos. I wish you could pause the slide show, it flips from photo to photo so quickly, I had to go through them several times. I would think, “Oh, this is my favorite…no wait a minute, this is my favorite…no, THIS is my favorite!!!” I can hardly wait to see more.
Peace, Love & Joy,
Joyce
Wade Keenon
July 10, 2011 — 2:15 am
Michael, Am really enjoying your photos. Nice eye. Nice work.
Joyce Fisher
July 28, 2011 — 1:21 pm
Hi Michael,
I just read a book, “Married to Africa”, by G.Pascal Zachary, a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. He talks about going to Cape Coast Castle. I was so excited to read his description. You really captured the haunting spirit of the castles that he described in your stunning photographs!
Peace, Love & Joy,
Joyce
G. Pascal Zachary
June 24, 2012 — 6:39 pm
thanks for reading my book and complimenting my description of Cape Coast Castle. Coincidentally, I visited the castle two weeks ago.