Middle Passage

Use these links to supplement and complement students’ reading of the work and to increase their overall enjoyment of literature. Challenge them to discern parallel themes, engage through visual and aural stimuli, and delve deeper into the thematic possibilities presented by the title.

Recommended Texts for Pairing

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789)

• the autobiography of slave Olaudah Equiano
• shares the same setting as Middle Passage and the themes of The Black Atlantic, the Middle Passage, and Slavery; Western Philosophy and Identity; Imperialism, Colonialism, and American Identity
• The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African on SuperSummary

Africans in America (1998)

• a nonfiction account of the role of slavery in America, written by Charles R. Johnson and Patricia Smith
• relates to the themes of The Black Atlantic, the Middle Passage, and Slavery; Western Philosophy and Identity; Imperialism, Colonialism, and American Identity

On Being Brought from Africa to America (1773)

• a poem by Phyllis Wheatley
• relates to the themes of The Black Atlantic, the Middle Passage, and Slavery; Western Philosophy and Identity; Imperialism, Colonialism, and American Identity
• On Being Brought from Africa to America on SuperSummary

Other Student Resources

Amistad (1997)

• a movie about a slave uprising on the Amistad ship
• relates to the themes of The Black Atlantic, the Middle Passage, and Slavery; Western Philosophy and Identity; Imperialism, Colonialism, and American Identity

Images of Slaves on the Atlantic Crossing

• A variety of images of related to slave ships on slaveryimages.org
• relates to the themes of The Black Atlantic, the Middle Passage, and Slavery; Western Philosophy and Identity; Imperialism, Colonialism, and American Identity

Interview with Charles R. Johnson (2019)

• interview with author discussing the sea as an entity in Middle Passage
• relates to the themes of The Black Atlantic, the Middle Passage, and Slavery; Western Philosophy and Identity; Imperialism, Colonialism, and American Identity