Summary

"And now I am old {London, 1802}"

Aminata Diallo, an African woman, cannot believe she has lived to such an old age -- about 57.

Aminata lives in London, England, and as she prepares to speak to Parliament about abolishing the slave trade, she wonders how and why she has lived this long. As a former slave, she has seen and experienced so much violence and cruelty. She delves into her memories of her childhood and of her enslavement. She remembers the words for father and mother (fa and ba). She remembers the village of Bayo in which she was born. Aminata views the English abolitionist movement with skepticism: "The abolitionists say they have brought me to England to help them change the course...