Cargo

By Ran Walker

The sign posted at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, stated Africans arrived there in 1619. Kwame glanced at the American flag, flapping majestically in the wind, on the pole behind the sign. “The White Lion” was the name of the Portuguese ship that brought Africans to the spot where he stood.

Kwame turned to face the bay and stared out on the endless horizon of water. In the distance he noticed a barge marked “China,” stacked high with shipping containers, sailing out toward the Atlantic. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was the route The White Lion had taken.

          
Ran Walker is the author of sixteen books. He teaches creative writing at Hampton University.