Àkòrò ní ìgbín fà gungi
Ìgbín kò lọ́wọ́
Ìgbín kò lẹ́ṣẹ̀
Àkòrò ní ìgbín fà gungi
Mo sé ní ìwúre fún èmi àti ẹ̀yin ní ojúmọ́ tòní wípé Olódùmarè yoo tì wá lẹ́yìn, ìgbìnyànjú wa láti gun òkè ọlà, kò ní já sófo
Matilda McCrear lived long enough to become a human bridge between Africa, American slavery, and the modern era. Born in West Africa around 1857, she was captured as a toddler and transported across the Atlantic aboard the Clotilda in 1860—the last known ship to bring enslaved Africans illegally into the United States. Her Yoruba name was Àbáké, meaning “born to be loved by all.” The facial scars on her left cheek, preserved in photographs, marked her as Yoruba. The voyage ...