Maroons and Black Seminoles — Reframing Florida as an African Field of Movement

[Amadu Massally]

We have long been taught to read Maroons and Black Seminoles primarily as “runaways” who entered new social worlds in Florida.

This piece asks a different question: what if Florida was already part of an Atlantic African field of movement, shaped by earlier arrivals, coastal networks, and Upper Guinea connections?

Drawing on ship records, regional patterns, and geographic context, I explore the possibility that some who fled into Florida were not only escaping plantation regimes, but entering a space already marked by African presence, memory, and adaptation.

I invite you to read the full piece here: 

https://amadujmassally.com/what-crossed-with-the-captives/

Amadu Massally

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“The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that's wrong with the world.”

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