This week in Someone Knows my Name, the story really begins to evolve. Aminata begins her story in Africa where she lived free with her parents. She tells of her parents' chance meeting and the love they shared as a family. She also shares the night that her life was forever changed when both of her parents were killed and she, along with countless others, was kidnapped. They endured a long journey to the coast. Those that survived were forced onto a slave vessel waiting to carry them across the ocean. On the journey, Aminata made friends, old and new, became a woman and most importantly, she survived. Since she was able "catch" babies and able to speak two different languages she became useful to the toubab (white man) and known by the "homelanders" on the ship. On their trip across the ocean the homelanders revolted, killed several toubab, lost plenty of their own but were overpowered and were once again bound in metal shakles. Those that were dead, injured or too weak to be of any use were tossed into the ocean.
Upon arriving in the toubab's land, the homelanders were separated and sold off. Aminata was taken to the plantation of Robinson Appleby along with Fomba, a native of her village that was lost in his mind. She was nursed back to health by Georgia who reached out to the fishnet for her friend Chekura. He was a boy about her age that guarded them along the journey but then was also taken captive and loaded onto the ship. He was owned by the master of a nearby plantation. Their love grew in secret but Appleby found out and made sure she knew he belonged to him completely. Despite her terrible ordeal, Aminata and Chekura fell in love, conceived a child and got married. For this she was stripped down of all her clothes and possessions, shaved bald and made an example of by Appleby.
Aminata delivered a baby boy that she named after her father. She loved her son so much and accepted her conditions because of him. Chekura came to visit when he could sneak away. She continued to nurse her son until he was sold by Appleby and taken from her in the middle of the night at 10 months old. Believing the loss of their son was her fault, Aminata gave up all will to live. She refused to work or eat despite threats and beatings. She was hoping to die. Appleby hoped to get something out of her before it was too late, so he sold her Solomon Lindo, a Jewish Indigo inspector that had previously inspected the Appleby plantation and had offered to buy Aminata.
