Really fascinating information Rez! Thanks for the insight. I had a co-worker for a few months who was from Mali and I loved talking to him about his experiences and the things he missed about home. He was adamant that I would love it there.

No, because he is exercising his rights. To be arrested one must limit or prohibit a right. Apparently others feel he should not have this right, or, that he is an idiot.

I would encourage anyone to do what they think would make them happy. Move "home" if it is your desire. Heck, I would even give up my citizenship in the USA if I felt Africa was my "home", and not the USA. I am not exactly sure why Africa would give reparations to Africans, living in America, because of American slavery. I am from a white European descent, not sure why that matters, I personally never knew it as home, and certainly wouldn't call it home. It is in fact, this relatively new country that has afforded folks the opportunity to make the money that allows them to live anywhere they wish. If moving back "home" is the desire, I am not certain handpicking the best areas to live would give you the back "home" feel of your ancestors that were forced to leave, but I could be wrong I have never lived there.

One of the most beautiful things about having US citizenship is being able to call anywhere we would like "home" without the fear of retribution. It is also one's innate right to give someone a strange look for doing that if it doesn't align with one's own personal beliefs. Selling of slaves still occurs in Africa, albeit, a different form, the selling of young African girls into prostitution or sex-slavery, really sad given this is modern times. It seems it is perpetuated through the generations.

I know I know, I will never understand, never get it. I will say it is a sad part of history of our growing country, no one should be plucked from their country Asian or Black, Jewish or Irish and sold to another individual, not just the Trans-Atlantic slaves.

I would encourage anyone to do what they think would make them happy. Move "home" if it is your desire. Heck, I would even give up my citizenship in the USA if I felt Africa was my "home", and not the USA. I am not exactly sure why Africa would give reparations to Africans, living in America, because of American slavery. I am from a white European descent, not sure why that matters, I personally never knew it as home, and certainly wouldn't call it home. It is in fact, this relatively new country that has afforded folks the opportunity to make the money that allows them to live anywhere they wish. If moving back "home" is the desire, I am not certain handpicking the best areas to live would give you the back "home" feel of your ancestors that were forced to leave, but I could be wrong I have never lived there.

One of the most beautiful things about having US citizenship is being able to call anywhere we would like "home" without the fear of retribution. It is also one's innate right to give someone a strange look for doing that if it doesn't align with one's own personal beliefs. Selling of slaves still occurs in Africa, albeit, a different form, the selling of young African girls into prostitution or sex-slavery, really sad given this is modern times. It seems it is perpetuated through the generations.

I know I know, I will never understand, never get it. I will say it is a sad part of history of our growing country, no one should be plucked from their country Asian or Black, Jewish or Irish and sold to another individual, not just the Trans-Atlantic slaves.

Some Afrikan countries feel complicit in the what took place, while others have merely adopted the ideology of Pan-Afrikanism. The United States of America has given money and resources to the state of Israel for the Holocaust. As far as we know, the United States had nothing to do with what Adolf Hitler was doing in Germany. Still, I suppose those in charge of this country found it to be the right thing to do.

When you speak of countries in Afrika, they too, are relatively new. The imaginary borders of the continent were not created by those who inhabit it today, but were instead drawn up by the European Powers during the Berlin Conference. These were borders created with no regard for rival tribes, ancestral homeland, and so on and so forth. Those with ability to handpick their situations and surroundings do so, so I’m not understanding what the issue with that is either.

Through a quick Google search, I found Russia to the be the worse nation in the world for human trafficking, followed by China, then Iran. If we’re going to talk about it then specific countries on the continent need to be named as not to paint a broad brush over the entire landmass. Sex-trafficking is huge in Libya, a destabilized nation, but is it the same in Ghana or South Afrika? Saying Afrika is dangerous or that slavery is rampant is misleading. New Orleans is dangerous depending on where you go. Sex-trafficking happens here in America. This nation has rampant gun violence...yet no one would want to paint the image of the U.S.

I find it odd to see the backlash and “lack of understanding” when it comes to an individual wanting to reconnect with their ancestry. We aren’t a people that can merely go on ancestry.com and trace our lineage back to an Afrikan country. Not only did those countries not exist when we were taken, but with our ancestors being considered no more than cattle, our lineage was not kept track of. We’re the byproduct of sex farms and rape. Some of us would be happy to reconnect with any semblance of what we were before being brought here.

I for one can’t wait to visit the continent, and if my life goes the way I plan it, help create a borderless Afrika like many of its leaders have proposed before me.

Rez, I totally respect your opinion and I am sure it is likewise with you. Rampant was never a word I used, nor did I paint with broad strokes. I also, respect the fact that you feel you will be able to remove the borders in AfriKa as has been proposed by the other "leaders" before you. I would not begin to speculate what our countries view was during the Holocaust, but it does appear we didn't want Germany conquering anymore of Europe, whether atrocities had anything to do with it, I can't say.

I also encourage you to Google Asian slaves or Irish slaves, although none of this can be changed at this point, but if it is on the internet it has to be true.

I am sorry, but all of the wishing, removing of monuments, payments, removing from history books and it still won't remove it from actual history.
I have taken off wedding rings twice in my past but the pain still exists. I have since moved on refusing to allow this to become a chip on my shoulder or an excuse to hate.

I was sincere in my post and sincere in people finding happiness. I have never visited Ancestry.com and have no problem, nor was I giving you "backlash" over you wanting to know your heritage. People should never be sold like cattle, whether it occurred in Benin by deSouza or the African kings of the time, or Europeans, it is unacceptable. The blame is not important, the point is, time is divided into three parts, history,present and future. It is up to each individual whether they focus on what can't be changed or making the world a better place now or in the future.