It’s one of the many striking images from Beyonce’s Lemonade visual album. The scene (from the Love Drought video) where she leads a procession of black women walking into the ocean as if they are about to drown themselves willingly.
Well did you know the video draws inspiration from a slavetime story popularly known as the Igbo Landing. The story of igbos who were brought to America to be slaves but vowed to drown themselves rather than be slaves in a foreign land.

Here’s the full story for those that don’t know via Wikipedia:

“In May 1803 a shipload of captive West Africans, upon surviving the middle passage, were landed by U.S.-paid captors inSavannah by slave ship, to be auctioned off at one of the local slave markets. The ship’s enslaved passengers included a number of Igbo people from what is now Nigeria. The Igbo were known by planters and slavers of the American South for being fiercely independent and resistant to chattel slavery. The group of 75 Igbo slaves were bought by agents of John Couper and Thomas Spalding for forced labor on their plantations in St. Simons Island for $100 each.


The chained slaves were packed under the deck of a small vessel named the The Schooner York to be shipped to the island (other sources say the voyage took place aboard The Morovia). During this voyage the Igbo slaves rose up in rebellion, taking control of the ship and drowning their captors in the process causing the grounding of the Morovia in Dunbar Creek at the site now locally known as Ibo Landing.
According to the historical account, under the direction of a high Igbo chief, they all walked in unison into the creek singing in the Igbo language “The Water Spirit brought us, the Water Spirit will take us home”. They would rather accepted the protection of Chukwu than end up in chains. Pretty remarkable story and in parts of South Carolina and Georgia, this story still holds true and the ground where the slaves drowned themselves is a historical landmark.

Hmmm, never knew of this story, nice one

rather die than become a slave, nice spirit
lalasticlala this is our history, FP please

That's the sagacity and bravery of Igbo ..known globally

Thank you God for creating me an Igbo man

suicidal since time immemorial....

YourNemesis:
suicidal since time immemorial....

Beta than bowing 2 ur fellow man u shameless coward

tooco:
Beta than bowing 2 ur fellow man u shameless coward

chai... see painment.

the doggedness and pride of an Igbo person is overwhelming.
We have always been and still are a fiercely independent people against any form of oppression and slavery.
Most slave rebellions were recorded to be done by people of igbo descent.Bravery is in our DNA
No matter the economy of the jungle,a lion can never eat grass.
I Love my people.
#proudly igbo

ariesbull:


That's the sagacity and bravery of Igbo ..known globally

Thank you God for creating me an Igbo man

In my next life and next lives to come,i will come back as an igbo man.
#igbo kwenu

Nwanne otua ka odi

TellingItAsItIs:

In my next life and next lives to come,i will come back as an igbo man.
#igbo kwenu