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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Black AF History summary
Michael Harriot
The Un-Whitewashed Story of America
22 mins
Brief summary
Black AF History reexamines American history through a Black perspective, challenging traditional narratives and highlighting overlooked Black contributions. Michael Harriot combines wit and scholarship, offering a fresh, insightful take on past events.
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Black AF History
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Myth-busting some origin stories
From Columbus’s fateful voyage through to the Continental Congress, the founding of America has been a story about Europeans conquering a new land, bringing the brilliance of their culture to a new continent, and shedding liberty on everything they touched. But the real story isn’t that.
Like Jamestown in Virginia – argued to be the first British colony in the so-called New World. The English were in a hurry to get there ahead of the French, who might spread more Catholicism. But on April 26, 1607, when 104 Englishmen stumbled up to the gates of Tsenacommacah, in the territory known today as eastern Virginia, and declared it as their own – despite it being the home of 31 separately governed tribes – the locals thought they were nuts.
First, these invaders arrived too late in the season to plant any food, so chief Wahunsenacah and his people knew there would be trouble. The English didn’t know the land was experiencing a 700-year drought, either. Their leader, Captain John Smith, was a famous mercenary with no experience or skills besides making war.
Worse, the laborers that the English brought with them couldn’t live off the land. No skills to forage, fish, hunt – those basics that provided so well for the people of Tsenacommacah. But the passenger who brought tobacco seeds soon discovered that this cash crop loved Virginia soil. But with no one to plant or tend the crop, this discovery was useless.
Just three years after arriving, the colonists were starving to death, eating first their pets and then each other to stay alive. They had found no gold, no riches, and had failed to make a life for themselves. The colony’s private investors in England were screaming for their money back. Then something happened that turned the tide for Jamestown, and Britain’s entire colonial experiment.
In July 1619, a crew of 25 English privateers attacked the Spanish ship, San Juan Bautista, which was carrying more than 350 kidnapped Africans to Vera Cruz, Mexico. Stealing the cargo, they split them between two ships, the Treasurer and the White Lion. The latter headed for Virginia and landed at Point Comfort in August. The captain quickly negotiated cheap rates for the stolen people, and sold 20 living souls to the Jamestown supply officer, Abraham Piersey. In that moment, the fate of Jamestown, and the British colonies, was saved.
The story of Jamestown almost never includes the cannibalism, ignorance, and the complete dependence on indigenous cooperation for success. It never mentions the colony survived through theft, piracy, and enslaved Africans. And if you think that these Africans were stolen for their brute strength alone, think again. Because the human beings who arrived on the White Lion and Treasurer brought far more with them than just their bodies. They carried the skills and intellectual capital of generations. It was this that saved the fragile colonies.
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What is Black AF History about?
Black AF History (2025) offers an in-depth look at the documented stories of American history that reveal it through the perspectives of the Black Americans who built the original colonies, the national economy, and the country’s infrastructure long before the United States was even a country. It also tells the tale of the centuries that followed, through Civil War, Reconstruction, backlash, and progress to uncover the resilience and self determination of Black Americans.
Who should read Black AF History?
- History buffs craving an inside look into the personalities and events that have shaped America as it is today
- Those curious about the deep background for current events and politics
- Anyone wanting a more comprehensive history of the world, and a more complete picture of those who have made a difference
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