By Venita Benitez
Pastor Larry Gipson, the late Calvin Pearson (the Founder of Project 1619), Venita Benitez, and the late Walter Walker
Nationwide — National Freedom Day honors and pays tribute to the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, commemorated on each succeeding March 25th, globally as a day commiserating the lives and deaths of millions of enslaved Africans and their descendants. This significant day serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience and humanity of those who endured the atrocities of slavery, while also calling for reflection and action to combat today’s modern-day slavery.In 1619, Africans from the Kongo and Ndongo kingdoms were captured, sold, and enslaved, beginning a harrowing journey on the Spanish slave ship, the San Juan Bautista (São João Bautista). Bound for Veracruz, Mexico, I can only imagine how horrific that journey must’ve been. The ship was overcrowded, unsanitary, and deadly. Disease ran rampant, and the conditions were so harsh that close to 160 people died on the way. Think about that — a hundred and sixty human lives were lost before the ship even made it to its destination.
Picture this: the San Juan Bautista left the kingdom of Ndongo (present-day Angola) in early January 1619 with around 350 enslaved Africans aboard. By summer, as it neared Veracruz, the ship was attacked by two English pirate ships hoping to strike gold—literally. The White Lion, a 160-ton pirate ship flying a Dutch flag, and the Treasurer, which was caught up in piracy and corruption scandals, raided the San Juan Bautista in the Bay of Campeche (modern-day Gulf of Mexico, or the Gulf of America if you prefer). Instead of gold, they found human cargo. The pirates kidnapped about 60 of the surviving enslaved Africans.
Now imagine some of those same 60 between 20-33, “20 and odd,” individuals being hauled onto the White Lion and taken to Point Comfort (present-day Hampton, Virginia) in August 1619. On August 25th, to be exact, these kidnapped Africans were sold for food and supplies. That was it. Just like that, their lives were traded away. This moment marked the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade in English North America.
Let’s not forget what these people have already endured. Many were captured by Africans collaborating with Portuguese colonists, marched to the Port of Luanda — known as the “door of no return” — and loaded onto the San Juan Bautista. By the time the White Lion pirates took them, they’d already stopped in Jamaica to trade 24 children. And then, after enduring all that, they were shipped off again and sold in Virginia. You can’t convince me they weren’t traumatized and completely drained after that long, brutal journey.
Here’s what stands out to me: pirates were known for chasing gold, not trafficking humans. Yet here they were, seizing human lives and profiting. The first enslaved Africans in British North America didn’t even have formal slave laws in place yet. For the remaining four winter months of 1619, these individuals were likely treated as enslaved people before being classified as indentured servants — just like poor Whites and maybe even some Native Americans who had been captured by the colonists. No way to escape.
It’s ironic to think their arrival at Point Comfort might’ve been slightly better compared to what they’d have faced in Veracruz, Mexico, which was one of only two major slave hubs for the transatlantic slave trade in 1619. In Veracruz, enslaved Africans were dispersed to sugarcane plantations and silver mines, where conditions were inhumane.
Fast forward to 2009, when Hampton’s Mayor Molly Ward issued a historic proclamation recognizing Port Comfort present-day Hampton, Virginia, as the landing site of these first recorded Africans in North America during the later part of August 1619. She tied it to the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. It was a powerful gesture, and honestly, an honor for many of us in the community to receive such recognition.
National Freedom Day reminds us of how far we’ve come and how far we still must go. Human trafficking — the modern-day version of slavery — is still very much alive. We have a responsibility to fight it and ensure it ends within our lifetimes.
Venita Benitez is the President of National Freedom Day, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. She is also Vice President of the Board for Project 1619. Watch her interview on WAVY News 10 LIVE, a local news station in Hampton, Virginia.
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