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The Extraordinary Tale of Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori
Man thrives by the principles he holds dear in his heart. It is those principles that equip a man with an unwavering attitude to aspire to be his truest self.
I know it has been quite a while since I have featured another piece of What I wish I would have learned in school; these series of blogs attempt to depict various odysseys of historical figures who managed to rise above the predicaments of an oppressive system. It was Frederick Douglass who once said, “it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men”. I feel now is the time to reclaim our narratives, because in school, we are seldom taught about the great empires of Mansa Musa, the Moors, or the Kilwa kingdom; the traditional curriculum seems to revolve around the Middle Passage when in fact there was livity and prosperity among the Black culture long before our plight. A close brother of mine shared with me this story, and after reading about it: I felt a strong conviction to share his story and what I admired most about his journey. This is the triumphing tale of “an African royal slave who was forcefully sent across the Atlantic in shackles” and managed to make the most of every presented opportunity to return home. His story is an insight to the cruelties of slavery, but also to how many individuals succeeded in handling such calamitous predicaments.
