Today was a day filled with a lot of information we gathered in self study.

I learned the term „ the danger of a single story“ today, coined by Chimananda Adichie. It describes the danger of a „single story“ told mostly through the powerful about the „powerless“ (in terms of wealth and political power) on the world stage.

A single story can produce prejudice and can be easily used to to degrade groups of people or even whole communitiues or societies. In the case of the single story, the narrator has the exclusive power to decide on the content of the story and the way people are presented to the „audience“. In a position of power, the narrator can also block out any „alternative stories“ as well as their distribution.

In the MermorialACTe Museum, of Pointe a Pitre, the Museum of the Memory of the Carribean Slave-Trade, I learned in which ways „a single story“ was used by European colonizers as well as the Catholic church to justify the cruelty of the enslavement of Millions of Africans. In dehumanizing the people of African heritage and other people of colour in the way they were shown to the Western world, the Colonizers created a story that enabled them to forcefully enslave them, exploit them and sell them as possesions.

A single story that I discovered in my own knowledge was, that I always saw the African people as the victims of slavery opposed to the White Europeans as the sole perpetrators. Although this is generally right, learning that Africans were also involved in the slave trade made me realize, I thought of Africans solely as victims in this context. With the new information given, this generalization then seemed like a paternalizing view to me. You can surely not divide into good and bad solely by ethnicity. I also discovered that I, as many Europeans, tend to see Africa as a whole instead of distinct countries with different languages and cultures.

I really much liked that the museum offered diverse stories about the slaves. There was a big focus on methods of resistance like the (so impressive!) „Slave gardens“, the ways of boycotting workforce as empowerment, the use of music and dance. I felt, that these are stories of strength, resilience and survival to be really proud of as a heritage.

I think that the museum gave a positive outlook for the future of Guadeloupe, different ethnicities that once were surpressed creating a unique culture together and finding power in their own traditions. Still there is a question mark for me, how the white European settlers fit in the bigger picture. I have a feeling, racism and inequality are still ongoing. A work in progress.

As someone who works with a lot of immigrant children who struggle with their identity and self- worth I first-hand know the „danger of a single story“. I am deeply motivated to work harder to offer a broader range of stories to our pupils about both their heritage and their possibilities of becoming.

And yes, the fact of surpression of human beings made me sad and angry. Once again I couldn’t understand why people don’t treat others like they deserve it – as a human being. 

But the people in Guadeloupe did their best. They believed in themselves and tried hard . They didn’t stop fighting for their rights and a happy life, like they once had.

And although they might have belonged to different cultures first, they discovered skills which have been similar or useful. And if not, they developed even something new like the creol language. 

With regard to this, I learnt that it is possible to create a national identity although there are different people and cultures living in one place.