2019 marked the 400th year since Africans first stepped foot on North American shores. Antony and Isabela (their given slave names) were brought from Angola aboard a Portuguese slave ship bound for Mexico. The White Lion, an English warship, pirated the Portuguese ship and stole its human cargo. The first “20 and odd” Africans brought to this land in chains stepped off the White Lion in the year of our Lord 1619. Antony and Isabela were among them. They were traded for food by residents of Jamestown. Bought by Captain Tucker, they eventually found each other and fell in love. They bore the very first African-American in 1624–William Tucker.
This month join host, Lisa Sharon Harper, and her guests Vincent Tucker (Direct descent of Antony and Isabela) and Angelique Walker-Smith (Pan-African and Orthodox Church Engagement, Bread for the World). Learn about life for the first African Americans and consider the path toward America’s healing over the next 400 years.