Summary

In “Gorée Island,” Smith meets with Momar Niang, the translator who accompanies him to Gorée Island in “downtown Dakar, Senegal” (239). They take a ferry from Dakar to the island. Here, they visit “the Maison des Esclaves, or House of Slaves” (241). Momar admits that he avoided the cite for years, hoping “to forget the story” (241). He has since learned the importance of studying this story, as it is “part of our collective memory” (241). He tells Smith “the history of the slave trade” is emphasized in Senegalese schools (241).

The House of Slaves is where captured Africans were held “before their final departure” to America (243). When Smith and Momar reach the island, a man named Sam leads them to the site. There, Smith studies the Door of No Return, “a famous symbol of the slave trade, appearing at historical sites across...