In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the beginning of forced migration of Africans to North America, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History hosted a panel discussion on the theme “400 Years of Perseverance.” The group of scholars talked about the importance of slave site preservation, W.E.B. DuBois’ color line theory, civil rights, and the criminal justice system. In August of 1619, twenty Africans who had been forced to cross the Atlantic Ocean arrived in the Virginia colony on board a Dutch ship.