Reflections for Crossing the Waters: Before the Dakar–Gorée Swim

This weekend in Senegal, Ania Ueno, our Communications & Media Manager at the Center for African Studies, will join hundreds of swimmers in the annual Dakar–Gorée Swim—a powerful event that bridges athletic challenge with profound historical reflection. The crossing from Dakar to Gorée Island carries deep symbolic meaning, tied to memory, resilience, and the African diaspora’s enduring ties across the Atlantic. 

"In preparing to swim from Dakar, the capital of Senegal to Gorée Island, in the upcoming La Traversée Dakar-Gorée in September 2025—an event organized by the Fédération Sénégalaise de Natation et de Sauvetage, now in its 36th annual edition—I am deeply mindful of the immense historical weight these waters carry. They are the same waters where countless enslaved individuals lost their lives during the transatlantic slave trade: some thrown overboard at the very start of their forced voyage, others who chose to leap into the ocean rather than endure enslavement, and many who were discarded or torn from their families during the brutal process on Gorée Island. The island stands as a solemn symbol of that suffering, and I approach these waters with remembrance and a recognition of our shared humanity..." [Read FULL ARTICLE here]