SANKOFA's 6th Annual REMEMBRANCE-Honoring the "African Bones of the Briny Deep" at Buckroe Beach for the 6th Year

For the 6th year in a row, The Sankofa Projects hosted its Annual International Day of Remembrance ceremony on Saturday, June 10, 2017 at 11:00am EST on Buckroe Beach in Hampton, VA.

PHOTOS ABOVE BY BILL THOMAS OF THIRDIIMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY “Over the nearly four centuries of the (Transatlantic) slave trade, millions of African men, women and children were savagely torn from their homeland, herded onto ships, and dispersed all over the so called ‘New World’, according to noted historian Dr. John Henrik Clarke. “What happened to those Africans who never made it off the enslavement ships alive? What about those who mutinied on the ships? What about those Africans who were cast off into the Atlantic Ocean and left to drown? Who will remember them; who will tell their story? asks Chadra Pittman Walke, Founder & Executive Director of The Sankofa Projects. "SANKOFA will and has for the past 6 years." replies Pittman Walke

PHOTO BY DIANA CHAPELLE LEWIS OF 757 PHOTOGRAPHY *********** PHOTOS BELOW BY BILL THOMAS OF THIRDIIMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY

Tributes to the Ancestors/Remembrance ceremonies were spearheaded by author and activist Toni Cade Bambara in 1987 when she made a plea for the community to remember our African Ancestors who perished in the Middle Passage. She called on us to remember those "African Bones in the Briny deep." In 2012, The Sankofa Projects answered that call and Remembrance at Buckroe Beach was born. Annually, The Sankofa Projects gives voice to this injustice and educates the public about the perilous journey of the Middle Passage which consumed the lives of so many during the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

LEFT AND BELOW PHOTOS COURTESY OF DIANNA CHAPPELE LEWIS OF 757 PHOTOGRAPHY

“The Middle Passage is the untold chapter in the annals of slavery. Remembrance is a spiritual ceremony and a communal gathering which honors the millions of African men, women and children who perished during the ‘Middle Passage’ and throughout the Transatlantic Enslavement Trade. Millions of Africans lost their lives and they were never given a proper burial. Remembrance is a celebration of their lives and is the funeral these Africans never received.” says Pittman Walke. This Year Congressman Bobby Scott attended and gave remarks.

PHOTOS ABOVE BY TEMEKA DIOUF

Annually hundreds make the pilgrimage to the city of Hampton to participate in this historic event. “Through Remembrance, the community has carved out a sacred space on Buckroe Beach to heal, reflect and ‘attempt’ to reconcile this tragic past on land which was once illegal for Africans Americans to stand upon during the racially segregated time of Jim Crow. Hosting Remembrance in Hampton is historically significant to the narrative of enslavement because Point Comfort is the birthplace of slavery and Fort Monroe is where the seeds of freedom were sown with the Contraband Decision in 1861. We acknowledge the beginning of slavery and the end of slavery and now, through Remembrance, we acknowledge the horror of what happened in the Middle. (Passage)” says Pittman Walke.

PHOTOS BY TEREZ DEAN The Ritual of Remembrance included: educational presentations by Dr. Arthur Carter, Angela Harris of SouthhEast CARE Coalition and Blue; traditional African drumming, African and Modern dance; Tributes dedicated to Native Americans/First Nations people, Bay Shore Beach and the Freedom Fighters who lost their lives in to Black Lives Matter, Drum Tribute to the family of and in honor of Walter E. Walker, Jr., Theatrical presentations, Poetry, Meditation, and remarks by Hampton Roads Sacred Goddesses, Traditional African and African American spirituals. Photo by Bill Thomas of Thirdiimage Photography

The program features a Kemetic Opening of the Way by Priest John Spruce, Priestess Jerrie Spruce and Priestess Amani Dawson, a Drum Call to the Ancestors lead by Goddesses Kerri Thurman, Bonney Barnes, Brothers William Bowser and Anpu John Robinson, with performances by Beauty for Ashes of Riddick Contemporary Dance, the Legacy of Weyanoke, Wazee African Culture and Dance and A song by Jeannie Mosley and Faith Gilliam.

PHOTO BY LISA WINSTEAD SLOAN At 12:00 noon an International Libation for Remembrance will be orchestrated by Baba Orimalade Ogunjimi of Ile Nago. Occurring simultaneously across the United States and internationally, Communal Libations will take place in the cities where Remembrance and Tributes to the Ancestors are held.

PHOTO BY DIANA CHAPPELE LEWIS OF 757 PHTOTGRAPHY

*************** IMAGES BELOW BILL THOMAS OF THIRDIIMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTOS BY BILL THOMAS OF THIRDIIMAGE PHOTOGRPAHY Our sponsors are Nserewa Adorned, Hampton History Museum and the City of Hampton Parks and Recreation. This event is free and open to the public. We ask that all respect the sanctity of this sacred ceremony.

] PHOTOS BY TEMEKA DIOUF

PHOTO BY CINDY CUTLER AND GLORIA AND WILLIAM BOWSER

PHOTO ABOVE BY BILL THOMAS OF THIRDIIMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTOS BY LISA WINSTEAD SLOAN Join us next year on Saturday, June 9, 2018 --same time--same place to honor our African Ancestors !!!

PHOTOS BELOW BILL THOMAS OF THIRDIIMAGE

Two Photos above Terez Dean JOIN US SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 2018 BUCKROE BEACH IN HAMPTON VA AT 11AM TO GIVE VOICE TO THE UNTOLD STORY AND TO HONOR OUR AFRICAN ANCESTORS OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGE AND CELEBRATE THE CONTINUITY OF OUR CULTURE!!!

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