Pittman Orchestrates Governor Northam's "Journey to Juneteenth" Ceremony for the Ancestors at Fort Monroe National Monument June 2021

My sacred work is rooted in REMEMBRANCE; Remembrance of the Ancestors, Remembrance of critical time periods and in Remembrance of places which hold memory of what happened there. For the past nearly 30 years, since my years working at the NY African Burial Ground Project, I have been committed to giving voice to those Africans who were silenced due to slavery and every other racial injustice that was inflicted upon them throughout history; Juneteenth is one of thise critical times which needs to be acknowledged and these African Ancestors need to be remembered. I was invited to orchestrate the "Calling of the Names" for Governor Northam's Juneteenth program on June 18, 2021 at the Fort Monroe Nationsl Monument. Master Drummer Anpu Sil John Earl Robinson opened with a Drum call to begin the ceremony in honor of the Africans of Galveston, Texas. I poured a libation in honor the FIRST NATIONS, INDIGENOUS and the Africans of the Diaspora throughout history like Ota Benga and Mary Turner who was lynched in 1918 as well as the contemporary losses we have endured like Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Amadou Diallo. Photo credit: Terez Dean