Comment on Virginia marks the dawn of American slavery in 1619 with solemn ceremonies, speeches and songs

HAMPTON, Virginia – They faced the sunrise to the rhythm of drums and waves on a windswept beach, dozens wearing white, near the spot where the first enslaved Africans arrived at the English colony of Virginia in 1619. On Saturday morning, they would release those spirits. The cleansing and naming ritual, presided over by visiting chiefs from Cameroon, kicked off a weekend of events marking the 400th anniversary of the Africans’ arrival and the dawn of American slavery. “The water was warm and salty,” said Tiffini Mason Johnson, who lives in Cockeysville, Maryland, emerging after a ceremony with Queen Mothers of Africa.