The Transatlantic Slave Trade

“Dr. Chavis shows us that the fight against the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade is not just about seeking justice for past wrongs but about dismantling the present systems of oppression that have evolved from it.” – From the Foreword by CHUCK D

The Transatlantic Slave Trade: Overcoming the 500-Year Legacy is a profound exploration of one of humanity’s darkest chapters. Co-authored by National Newspapers Publishers Association (NNPA) Senior National Correspondent Stacy M. Brown and renowned historian Dr. Benjamin Chavis, this book delves into the enduring impacts and legacies of the transatlantic slave trade from 1500 to 2024.

The transatlantic slave trade is a brutal scar on the face of humanity, a monstrous crime that tore millions of Africans from their homeland, dehumanized them, and built the so-called American dream on their blood, sweat, and tears. This isn’t just history—it’s the very foundation of the systemic racism that still plagues America today. To understand the real roots of the struggle, one must return to where it all began. And that’s precisely what this book does—unflinchingly and unapologetically.

Benjamin Franklin Chavis Jr. is an activist, author, journalist, and the current president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association. In 1993, the national board of directors of the NAACP elected Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr as the executive director and CEO of America's oldest civil rights organization. In his youth, Chavis was a youth coordinator and SCLC assistant to Martin Luther King Jr. At the age of 23, he rose to in 1971 as the leader of the Wilmington Ten in North Carolina, civil rights activists who were unjustly convicted of committing arson.

Stacy M. Brown is a senior writer for The Washington Informer and the senior national correspondent for the Black Press of America. Stacy has more than 25 years of journalism experience and has authored two major biographies, including "Blind Faith: The Miraculous Journey of Lula Hardaway, Stevie Wonder's Mother." 

Chuck D is considered one of the most influential lyricists in contemporary music. Both as a solo artist and as the leader of the ground-breaking hip hop group Public Enemy (which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013), he helped pave the way for political, social, and culturally conscious hip hop. Public Enemy's albums remain among the most critically acclaimed works in the genre, including It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet.
A visionary in digital entertainment, Chuck D helped lead the filesharing movement, launched one of the first online entertainment websites, Rapstation.com, and digital-only record labels, the SpitSlam Record Label Group and Public Enemy were the second act to ever release an album in MP3 format. He is on the road three weeks out of each month touring with Public Enemy and his supergroup Prophets of Rage or speaking at tech and music conferences and colleges, and splits his days off between Long Island, Atlanta, and Southern California.