Remember her name: A review of ‘The African Princess’

By Ricki Fairley It started with a meme. The picture was of a beautiful Black woman in an elaborate Victorian era court dress. The caption explained it was Harriet Tubman before “slavery made her ugly.” People were amazed at what a difference it was, and how evil slavery was. Nice sentiment. One problem. It wasn’t Harriet Tubman. The picture was of Princess Sarah Forbes Bonetta, and two authors have made it their mission to make people remember her name. Born in West Africa, Omoba Aina, was the sole survivor of the Egdabo royal family of the Yoruba clan. The killer of her family beat her, put her into a cage, and kept her in his throne room as a living trophy. Her future most likely would have been a painful death as a human sacrifice. Instead, she was sent to Queen Victoria as a gift. Victoria was the most powerful woman in the world, and right from the start, she saw something worthwhile in the little girl’s demeanor. Queen Victoria was known to take other royals in during this time of upheaval around the world. She claimed Sarah as a member of her family, pledging her financial support of the...