as a result of being transported to Europe and the New World. Now, the state of Florida adds to that the gift of skills and competencies.
Here’s the truth: African people had civilization, government, and religion long before they were stolen for labor, with the mighty empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. Likewise, African people had plenty of skills and competencies prior to their arrival on the shores of the Americas. According to the, planters in the Southern states had to learn from West Africans, such as the Ashanti and Yoruba people, who knew about crop rotation and the importance of diversifying crops. Africans also knew how to grow rice, and manage plantations.
Simply calling African people taken from their homes “slaves” — rather than saying that they were “enslaved” or an “enslaved person” — is already a denial of their humanity. But to say that Africans acquired skills as a result of enslavement is a denial of the genius that’s responsible for the skills they had gained prior to their enslavement.