Transatlantic Slave Trade Sought to Strip Africans of Humanity – Mahama
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Transatlantic Slave Trade Sought to Strip Africans of Humanity – Mahama
March 24,2026
President John Dramani Mahama has said the transatlantic slave trade was deliberately structured to deny Africans their humanity, arguing that it was built on unfounded notions of racial superiority.
Speaking at an event on slavery at the United Nations Headquarters on March 24, 2026, Mahama called for a reassessment of how the history of slavery is framed, beginning with the language used to describe it.
“The entire transatlantic slave trade was designed to deny African people their humanity,” he stated, adding that the system was rooted in a racial hierarchy “with no basis in fact or science.”
The President stressed that the term “slave” itself can diminish the identity of those affected, insisting that they should instead be recognised as human beings who were forcibly enslaved.
“There is no such thing as a slave. There were human beings who were trafficked and then enslaved,” he said.
He explained that the brutality and long-term inequalities associated with slavery were made possible because Africans were treated as property rather than as people.
“The injustices that were born of slavery and carried forward into successive social systems took place because those persons were considered objects, not human beings,” he noted.
President Mahama further called for a shift in global discourse, urging that discussions on slavery must prioritise restoring dignity and recognising the humanity of those who endured it.
“When discussing slavery and its consequences, we must always start by reclaiming the dignity of Africans… and, as a matter of course, our own humanity,” he added.
