“A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within.” - Will and Ariel Durant. That quote will preface the African role in the transatlantic slave trade. Yes, Africans participated in the slave trade acting as middlemen with Europeans, selling our own people. Class plays a vital part in this thing too, not just race. Both of which are social constructs that heavily affect your quality of life and your access to quality in general. Hip-Hop’s billionaire, Jiggaman says “No civilization is conquered from the outside until it destroys itself from within.” sounds flyer. It is vital to understand that human beings in general are capable of great evil as well as great good. Harriet Tubman was known to carry a small pistol with her on rescue missions as protection, but also to encourage weak-hearted folks from turning back and risking the safety of the group. Additionally, Dr. Umar Johnson said “Some of our [people] are so far gone that we’re going to have to put some of them to sleep in order to take back the neighborhood.” Places like Elmira Castle in what is present-day Ghana in West Africa acted as a center for slave trade. Nigerian politician Donald Duke acknowledges that his ancestors participated in the slave trade. Know that the modern use of providing this history could be to elude black on black crime. This being one on an international level. Now, black on black is a myth it doesn’t exist. Crime is fundamentally intraracial and proximal between people who know each other and live in the same area. That aside, It gets deep y’all, truth is always stranger than fiction. “In Benin, the government plans to build two museums devoted to the slave trade in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution... It is raised in political debates, downplayed by the descendants of slave traders and deplored by the descendants of slaves. For over 200 years, powerful kings in what is now the country of Benin captured and sold slaves to Portuguese, French and British merchants. The slaves were usually men, women and children from rival tribes — gagged and jammed into boats bound for Brazil, Haiti and the United States.” Knowledge is power y’all.