Building Community From Then to Now
supported by Rural arts collaborative
Sankofa in the Akan language of the Ashanti people of Ghana literally translates to "go back and retrieve." This is the theme that has spirited us in this effort to bring together our community. This moment in our collective lives is marked by an opportunity to shift the conversation forward on so many issues affecting us all. But in order to do that, sometimes we need to repatriate or retrace our steps and re-immerse ourselves in our history. This can serve as a guide to what has been successful, but also help us get in tune with the core of our relationships to our environment and even more crucially, each other. Building community takes intentional effort as we bring together ideas and people from different walks of life. Sankofa informs this communal engagement by reminding us not to forget the lessons of the past but also to retrieve its most potent pieces and inject them into the now. This event is one way that we as a community can actively engage with one another.
This event will feature live dance performers including African dance and drum, hip-hop artists, spoken word artists, and communal engagement through a panel discussion.