My name is Freddy Shabaka and I’m from Sierra Leone. I am what some people may refer to as an “edutainer” as I  will be using songs to blog about issues that reflect the lyrical content of the material. I just started my blog using one of my songs called “The Black Loyalists”. The song focuses on a forgotten African American hero called Thomas Peters who fought for the British during the American revolutionary war and became a sergeant in the British regiment called the Black Pioneers.

He later became the leader of the Black Loyalists who founded Freetown in 1792, the capital of Sierra Leone.

Their story is fascinating and my mission is to get the word out, especially to African Americans. A British historian, Simon Schama, said in his book on the Black Loyalists called “Rough Crossings”, that Thomas Peters is not in the pantheon of great African American heroes like Frederick Douglas because he fought on the “wrong side” during the revolutionary war. I’d love to know what people think about this? Why has his story slipped between the cracks? The Black Loyalists hardly feature in African American history. My first blog talks about the Black Loyalist story.

Check it out at www.shabakasounds.blogspot.com

My blog will make you think and dance at the same time.