English: The “Point of No Return” seems a place forgotten by locals, and one virtually inaccessible to outsiders. Sitting at the end of the historic Badagry road, the monument is only eighty percent complete and deserted. The site was one of the main ports in West Africa from which millions of enslaved Africans were taken to the Americas. Slavery was not abolished there until 1866. The site is located in Badagry, Nigeria which is connected by road to the country’s main city of Lagos. The road, however, is virtually impassible effectively isolating the town—and its history. The journey of 35 miles took us over three hours. (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/09/badagry-cut-off-from-nigeria-due-to-bad-road-sowore/). There is no way an outsider like me, a visiting white doctor from Memphis, TN deep in the American South, could ever traverse this road without the help of friends and locals.

After a considerable amount of misdirection and encounters with authorities we came across the King of Badagry. After paying homage to him, he provided us with accurate directions, and asked for help bringing medical care to this remote area. We then crossed several kilometers of sand dunes in a 4-wheel drive pick-up truck in the rain.

The site was desolate, beautiful, and somber. Rain leaked into the monument and onto the stairs up to the overlook of the Atlantic Ocean. Yet this view was inaccessible to its visitors, barricaded by cinder blocks—a result of its abandoned construction. “The Point of No Return” is a monument of significance not only for Nigeria, but also for the people of Memphis, Tennessee, where I am from, and the rest of the world. It is a place for the entire world to remember the evils of slavery and that its consequences have still not been brought to resolution. This is truly an international monument.