“The Water Will Carry Us Home” a short film animated by Gabrielle Tesfaye captures and retells the story of African people who were captured and thrown off ship during the trip through the Middle Passage. I’ve had brief knowledge before, where I was told that captured Africans would be thrown off ship or willingly jump off ship because in their hearts they believe that the ocean waters would take them home to Africa as they transform into mermaids. Tesfaye was able to tell history from an overlooked perspective, one that is rooted deep in culture and spirituality.

In the opening scene of the animated film, a masculine figure holds a key in one hand. Both of his hands carrying an eye. He is surrounded by many doors, and the one he chooses emerges him amidst stormy sea waters. The third eyes seen in the story can be seen as a perspective shift, or the one that sees beyond a colonial narrative of the past. The film includes an old excerpt of a news article stating how African people were to be sold, describing them as healthy, the dehumanization and commodification of their lives blatant. The third eyes sees beyond this, it is a symbol of reclaiming their stolen lives with the help of their connection with the ocean. The ocean wasn’t something to be feared, not when it were other humans who have stolen their lives. Nature heals more than it destroys, a mystical mermaid goddess figure appears to embrace and redirect those who’ve been thrown off ship. Their transformations into mermaids and gaining a third eye is one of a spiritual rebirth.