Someone Knows My Name

“Some say that I was once uncommonly beautiful, but I wouldn’t wish beauty on a woman who has not her own freedom, and who chooses not the hands that claim her.” 

An elderly Aminata reflects on her experiences of slavery and foreshadows the events in the story to come. Being uncommonly beautiful is more a curse than a blessing if you do not own your own body. As a slave, your own body is not yours, and you cannot choose who claims you.

“Never have I met a person doing terrible things who would meet my own eyes peacefully. To gaze into another person’s face is to do two things: to recognize their humanity, and to assert your own.” 

When being moved by slave traders, Aminata notices that those in charge do not look into the eyes of the captives. By refusing to do so, slavers refuse to acknowledge the humanity of slaves and make no effort to assert their own. Disregarding the slaves’ humanity makes the act of slavery all the easier, but is also diminishes the slavers’ humanity in the eyes of the captives.

“One day, our captors stopped at a fork in the path and saluted a new breed of man. Skin speckled, like that of a washed pig. Shrunken lips, blackened teeth. But big, tall, and standing like a chief, chest out. So this was a toubab!” 

This vivid description of white men holds a distinct irony. White men commonly refer to the savagery and barbarism of Africans to justify the act of slavery. Yet in her first encounter with white men, Aminata sees only animalistic characteristics, comparing their skin to that of a pig.