1619

In 1619, the first enslaved Africans arrived at Jamestown, Virginia. Sold away from their families and stripped of their cultural traditions, this first generation of enslaved people were forced into a system that became tightly weaved into the fabric of the United States.

Pictured: A black and white sketch of enslaved Africans tightly packed onto the slave ship Wildfire. Most of the image depicts African men sitting on the floor. In the background, women sit together on a raised platform.

Credit: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ds-14012