Maafa Commemoration Month Poetry Reading

On October 17 at Mo'Joes in Berkeley Asha Brundage hosted a poetry reading. Here are poems her mother, Karla Brundage, shared that afternoon.

We will add more as they are sent.








A Shape Shifter
By Karla Brundage

On the eve of the inauguration of Barack Obama 44th president of the United States

He arrives in light filled dreams
Speaking of hope
Spirits of the past echoing
Voices of ancestors humming we shall overcome.
He stands
Shimmering black
Sometimes white
Projecting light
Casting shadows.
From the depth of my unconscious
The dream calls out to me
Awakens my sorrow in its hope
Calls forth all past injustices
In the quest for justice
Tests my faith
The dream dancer
Calls himself hope
And I respond.
A shackle unclasped
I step forward into daylight.

Not yet Named- Calling for Peace-
by Karla Brundage

Peace is my wish
On my block
Extending out to the world
In a pollen covered pistil
Blossoming new ideas
Unfurling a small bud
Projecting its fantasm
Destruction of ego
Through power of love.


My Hope

by Karla Brundage
My hope for you
Is peace
A current- a torrent
Of open hearted dialogue
A surgery
Of sorts
To repair the egos
Unleashed in
The chaos of war
How to find and tame them
How to conquer the dragon of violence
Lose amidst us.


Grace

by Karla Brundage
What if the weapon were a transformer
To transform hate to love
And anger to forgiveness
What if it were that simple
To put down the cell phone
And listen to the heart
Beating there next to you
To look into the eye
Of that man-captured on tape
Is he begging for mercy?
Can you find it in your heart to give it?

Maafa 2009

All photos Copyright Sara Marie Prada, All Rights Reserved

Maafa 2009

Photo credit: Sara Marie Prada, All Rights Reserved

Maafa 2009

Photo credit: Copyright 2009, Sara Marie Prada, All Rights Reserved

MAAFA 2009
Maafa 2009 was chillier than usual, but our hearts were certainly no less warmed by the ancestors’ tight embrace. As supplicants made their way through the Middle Passage to the Wolosodon rhythms, the slave march through the Doors of No Return to the beach where each person held a piece of string—symbolic of a connection…a philosophical connection to the homeland, family and history. It was really beautiful as we sang the Mbongi song from the Kikongo tradition, Wolosodon from the Bambara or Mali Kingdom, then prayed in Yoruba and Shona with an English translation. As we stood turned in the four scared directions, spirit grabbed Mama Geri and Mama Ayanna…we had service that morning on the beach as winds whipped our faces, tears dried before they left one’s eyes. There were many new faces and the feeling was certainly reverent and celebratory. We were all thankful to the ancestors for the day and the life and the company and the spirit. Visit www.maafasfbayarea.com to see photos and reflections as they become available.

Photo credit: Copyright 2009 Sara Marie Prada, All Rights Reserved

The 12th Annual Sankofa Caravan to the Ancestors


“A spirit to be remembered”

By ZIN (Minister of Culture, NBUF)



As early as Thursday, October 15th people from across the country began to converge to the cities of Houston and Galveston, Texas for one event; The National Black United Front’s 12th Annual – Sankofa Caravan to the Ancestors. The kick-off began with an edutainment component organized by the University of Houston’s Liberation Society and N.B.U.F. entitled “Drum and Chant – The Roots of Hip-Hopoetry”, featuring master poet Mutabaruka and other local Houston artists such as Sunni Patterson, 144 Elite, Empress Winter, Bishop Black, Torian, Sar, Rez and hosted by Emcee ZIN. It all took place on the campus of the University of Houston (central). It was a divine mix of Hip-Hop/Poetry! You could feel the revolutionary energy in the room, where all ages from toddlers to elders bobbed their heads, clapped their hands and gave their Ashe’ to the wordsmiths of the night. This was just the beginning of three days of reconnecting our past to the present while showing the necessity for ancestor veneration, unity in our communities and the need to settle our differences. The theme for this year’s Caravan was “Settle your quarrels, come together…the sooner begun, the sooner done” which was taken from a quote by ancestor George Jackson.

There could not have been a more fitting theme, simply due to immediate need for the rebuilding of a united front in the African community as a whole. This has been the mission of The National Black United Front’s Houston Chapter for the last decade, now under the leadership of now National Chairman Kofi Taharka. Bringing together African communities of all faiths with the sole purpose of healing our people through prayers and actions of positive, progressive, forward motion toward the liberation of African peoples worldwide!

The second event took place Friday, October 16th at the S.H.A.P.E. Community Ctr. – Houston, TX. This event was the viewing of the movie “Sankofa” directed by Haile Gerima which featured question and answer period following the movie with two of the films’ stars Oyafunmike Ogunlano and Mutaburaka.

For the last few years the movie has been shown even though a large number of people have seen it. Nearly everyone in attendance would attest to their need to re-visit the movie’s concepts of reconnecting to the African spirit. On this evening the African communities from Houston, Oklahoma, Dallas and Atlanta introduced their children to Oyafunmike and Mutabaruka with proud and respectful reverence as they explained how much it meant to meet “our” movie hero and shero.



The main event showed up as quickly as the rising of the sun on Saturday, October 17th at 6:30 a.m. as beautifully dressed members of the Pan-African community in their all white garbs met at the N.B.U.F. Houston Headquarters, located at 2428 Southmore, for this glorious day. The 12th Annual Sankofa – Caravan to the Ancestors had arrived and all the excitement from the last two days had come to a boil. Peace, Uhuru, Black Power, Forward, As Salaamulaikum, and other greetings filled the air as Brothers and Sisters greeted one another while mentally preparing for what was ahead. Capt. Khalid Greene and the Houston IN-CERT (Inner city emergency response team) organized the vehicles that would partake in the physical caravan down to Galveston, Texas. The caravan included members of various community organizations such as Sehah , O.B.U.-San Antonio, NCOBRA, Third eye-Dallas, TX., AAPRP, The Act of Change and The Shrine of the Black Madonna just to name a few.

Arriving at 29th and Seawall in Galveston, the caravan was welcomed by the sounds of African drumming and waves crashing. Hugs and high spirits filled the air. Bro. Salim Adolfo (Vice-Chairman of NBUF) opened the ceremony with greetings of peace from the National Black United Front. Second to speak was Chairman Kofi Taharka with the word of day on how our communities needed to settle our quarrels now while firing the revolutionary spirits of all on the beach. Oyafumike Ogulano blessed the ceremony with an opening libation, honoring our holy African ancestors. African communities from Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, Baton Rouge, San Antonio, New York, Tulsa Oklahoma, Jamaica and Houston poured onto the beach to partake in the spiritual festivities.

Also in attendance on the beach were Cynthia Mckinney and legendary percussionist Bill Summers. After singing songs of praise and dancing to the drummers, all were invited to make an offering into the very waters that once brought our ancestors from Africa into captivity here in America. The ceremony lasted approximately three hours, ending in a closing prayer and directions to the luncheon which was held at Old Central Cultural Center. Once at the center Caravan attendees had a chance to unwind, eat and listen to uplifting and motivational words of wisdom from Chairman Kofi Taharka, Oyafunmike and Mutabaruka just to name a few. Once full of spirit and nourishment, everyone quietly reflected, smiled and gave thanks for the opportunity to work toward the liberation of African people through reverence, sacrifice, love and power of community! With the will of the creator and the ancestors, we shall meet again on the shores of Galveston, Texas next year to revisit and reclaim our divine and rightful place were our forefathers and mothers were brought to this land unwillingly. However we willingly say “Forward ever, Backward NEVER!”

Many thanks and blessings go out to all of the African spiritualist communities that attended and offered their body of knowledge, wisdom and understanding on honoring our holy African ancestors.

Special thanks goes out to the organizers of the Caravan which include, Event Chair-woman, Osunbunmi Gaidi, Bro. Omowale, Sis. Folade, Bro. T. Piper, Sis. Matti and all that came to the weekly NBUF meetings and planning sessions.
Please view the video I produced from the Caravan: http://vimeo.com/7220546

View Pictures from the Sankofa Caravan events: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43762891@N03/show/


Forward in truth,
ZIN
Minister of Culture
National Black United Front

S.O.S. RADIO
Every Wednesday 3p-5p
90.1fm Houston, 89.5fm Galveston
www.kpft.org
www.trickledownent.com
www.soundofsoul.net
www.myspace.com/sosradio
www.breakrecordz.blogspot.com
"Enlightening the ears and souls of the people"

Maafa Commemoration in Alabama

You are invited to attend our second annual MAAFA Celebration on Saturday, October 24, 2009. Festivities will begin at:

9:00 a.m. At the Slavery and Civil War Museum, 1410 Water Avenue with Soul Prints of Our Ancestors and Ourselves (Interactive Tour).

10:00 a.m. Walking on Water: A Silent Procession down Water Avenue to Memorial Park for dedication of a Maker in honor of our enslaved Ancestors.

11:00 a.m. Marker Dedication Ceremony

12 Noon Lunch at Wallace Community College, 3000 Earl Goodwin Parkway, Selma, Alabama at the Hank Sanders Technology Center. Senator Hank Sanders will prepare and serve his favorite dish "Umoja."

2:00 p.m. Author, Scholar and Activist Raymond Winbush will discuss his book
"The Warrior Method" at George Wallace Community College (Goodwin Theatre). Book Signing to follow.

4:00 p.m. Reception for Ambassador Jean-Claude B. Bope and Dr. Raymond Winbush at the Hank Sanders Technology Center.

6:00 p.m. Premier Showing of BROTHERHOOD AGAINST APARTHEID Talk Back Session with Ambassador Jean-Claude B. Bope Executive Producer George Wallace Community College (Goodwin Theatre).

7:30 p.m. "The Healing Song" an original musical drama written by Faya Rose Toure’
and Survivors of Sexual Abuse.

For additional information please feel free to call (334) 418-4889.

August 23, 2009 is ABOLITION DAY

ABOLITION DAY TO BE COMMEMORATED AT KEY WEST’S 1860 AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND

KEY WEST, Florida Keys — The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition is to be commemorated at an oceanfront Key West site believed to be the only African refugee cemetery in the United States.

Presented by Key West’s Bahama Conch Community Land Trust, the observance is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, at the 1860 African Burial Ground on Higgs Beach, Atlantic Boulevard and White Street.

The commemoration is to focus on the progress of a memorial honoring the African refugees buried in the cemetery and goals for making it a World Heritage Site.

Experts believe the burial ground contains the graves of Africans who died in 1860 after being freed by the U.S. Navy from three American-owned slave ships captured near the Cuban coast.

More than 1,400 African men, women and children were transported to Key West for sanctuary, housed and cared for after being rescued from the slave vessels. Most eventually were returned to Africa, but 295 died in Key West, probably from illnesses resulting from the brutal conditions aboard the slave ships. They were buried in unmarked graves along the island’s southern shore.

Shortly afterward, construction began on a Martello tower that encompassed part of the cemetery site, and the Africans’ story was virtually forgotten until historical research and a 2002 ground-penetrating radar analysis revealed the presence of graves.

At the Aug. 23 event, presenters are to include Norma Jean Sawyer of the volunteer committee for the 1860 African Memorial Site Project; Professor Gene Tinnie, lead concept artist for the project; and Nigerian-born artist Johnson Odibi, a contributor to the concept design.

The evening is to include a presentation on the cemetery’s significance to international history and plans to introduce the site and its story to UNESCO for consideration as a potential World Heritage Site.

Storyteller, writer and public radio host Madafo, a representative of the Diaspora Arts Coalition of Miami, is to give an overview of Africans forced into slavery in earlier centuries and the overwhelming affects of the trade. Tinnie plans to share the story of how the African symbols that adorn the cemetery’s columns were chosen, while Odibi will describe the significance of other artwork at the site.

In addition, Sawyer will chronicle the ways Key West residents came together in 1860 to protect and care for the African refugees, and continue to spearhead present-day efforts to preserve the cemetery and its story for future generations.

Performances by ceremonial drummers are expected to round out the events.

Proclaimed by UNESCO, the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition commemorates the start of a 1791 uprising of enslaved Africans in Santo Domingo that played a critical role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

For more information, call Norma Jean Sawyer at (305) 294-0884 or e-mail njsawyer@bahamaconchclt.org.

For lodging information in Key West, contact the Key West Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-LAST-KEY (800-527-8539) or visit the Keys Web site at www.fla-keys.com.

Save the Date

Maafa 2009: Hurricane Katrina

Sunday, August 30, 2009, 5-9 PM, at Shashamane Restaurant at 2507 Broadway in Oakland (corner of 25th Street Auto-Row), there will be a report back and fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina Survivors.

The organizations we have been supporting for the past four years are LIFE of Mississippi (Biloxi site) and Common Ground Health Clinic. We will have poets sharing work, the anthology, Words Upon the Waters, Poets and Artists Respond to Hurricane Katrina will be on sale.

We'll have birthday cake for Chairman Fred Hampton, a young revolutionary killed by the FBI/Chicago police in 1969. Other Leos will also be celebrated.

There will be an art auction, so bring art artists and money public. We accept checks. Donations are requested, minimally $10, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. For information email: racewoman@gmail.com

If you can't make it send checks made out to either charity to P.O. Box 30756, Oakland, CA 94604.

Juneteenth Oakland 2009 at Lake Merritt

Oakland Libation for the Ancestors

The Annual Ancestral Remembrance of the Middle Passage Sunrise Ceremony at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park

The growing Juneteenth Celebration in Miami is linked to the Annual Sunrise Ancestral Remembrance of the Middle Passage Ceremony, held each year on the Sunday closest to the summer solstice. This year it will be held on the Sunday of the solstice itself, June 21, which is also Fathers Day, beginning at 5:45 a.m. (Those who think that is too early to get up are often reminded of the time not too long ago when our Ancestors had no choice.) The Ceremony takes place at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park (turn left at the second traffic signal on Rickenbacker Causeway, after going through the toll gate [$1.50], just before the Bear Cut Bridge to Key Biscayne).

The Ceremony honors the millions who perished in the Middle Passage (the so-called Atlantic "slave trade") and those who survived to give life to us and future generations. It is traditionally opened by members of the native American community, to invoke the permission and the blessings of the Ancestors of this land. Drummers and musicians are especially welcome, and participants are invited to bring offerings of fruits, grains, nuts, eggs, flowers or other appropriate items, which are placed on a raft of palm fronds and carried out to sea. Brief prayers, performances, artwork, words of wisdom, etc. are also welcomed, as we honor those who endured the horrors of the Middle Passage by "showing ourselves strong."

(We also remember that the Middle Passage was not the first or the only time that Africans crossed the Atlantic to the Americas, but its impact on the making of the world today, and the creation of new African peoples cannot be overlooked or forgotten. And, in the spirit of Juneteenth, we also remember the most important lesson of that observance: "Until all of us are free, none of us is free.")

For more information or directions, please feel free to contact Brother Gene at (305) 904-7620 or Sis. Altine at 786-260-1246. Please spread the word. Asante sana.

National and International Remembrance for the Ancestors June 13, 9 AM

Remembrance for the Ancestors June 13, 9 AM PST

It's that time again, our annual ritual pouring libations for our ancestors. We join communities in Charleston, South Carolina, Panama, West Indies, Cape Coast, Ghana, and Brooklyn, New York.

Stop what you are doing Saturday, June 13th at 9 a.m. PST and pour libations for our African ancestors who were taken against their will from Mother Africa. Ask them for strength and endurance. Freedom is a constant struggle. For those who'd like to pour libations in unity. Join us at 8:30 a.m. We will pour precisely at 9 AM. Bring your drums and other percussion instruments to celebrate our ancestors' lives. Bring flowers, breakfast pastry and fruit to share. It is traditional to wear white, but for those who know me...bring yourself, it's what's inside that counts.

Feel the power of that moment as we recall their greatness of spirit and give thanks. Ashay!

Last year we met at the fountain at Lake Merritt in Oakland, across from the Merritt Bakery where the fountain is: E-18th Street at Lakeshore Drive. We can meet there again this year. It is a nice spot, easy to locate and wheelchair accessible.

This is our fourth year participating in the international remembrance of the African ancestors who were bought and sold during the European slave trade. This is also an opportunity to reflect on those subsequent ancestors like Mama Tubman and Baba Denmark Vesey, and ancestors elsewhere in the African Diaspora. It is, a prayer for our survival and an opportunity to greet and support one another in this important work: healing from enslavement: social, political, and economic. It is also an opportunity to reclaim our personal and collective power, plus long overdue justice and equality.


Visit http://maafasfbayarea.com

Listen to Wanda's Picks Radio Friday, June 5, 2009 8-10 AM where I speak to William Jones, one of the founders of the New York Remembrance, Osei Terry Chandler, founder of the Charleston Remembrance and Oshunbumi Hernandez, director of Odunde Inc. The website is: http://www.wandaspicks.asmnetwork.org


20th Anniversary for the New York Remembrance for the Ancestors

Brother William Jones said when asked about the origin of the New York ritual libation for African ancestors who perished during the European Slave Trade, that it was started by faculty at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, Tony Akeem, specifically, and inspired by Toni Cade Bambara.

Now in its 20th year with international participation growing each year, the only simultaneous ritual honoring the memory of our African ancestors, is this Saturday, June 13 at 12 noon ET. The NY ritual is the inspiration for Remembrances for the Ancestors in San Francisco, Oakland, Charleston... the second Saturday in June.

These simultaneous celebrations/commemorations are for our African ancestors' who endured and those who didn't survive the horrific Middle Passage. (Listen to the interview taped June 5, 2009 on http://www.wandaspicks.asmnetwork.org)

The participants begin assembling on Coney Island at Bay 18 at 9:30-10 AM. The drums call one into the circle, where people are dancing and singing and chanting. The libations are poured at 12:00 noon exactly and then people take flowers and go into the ocean. Guests are asked to wear white if possible and to bring flowers and fresh fruit to share.


12th Annual Charleston Remembrance for the Ancestors

Honoring our ancestors who perished during the Middle Passage, those souls who became nameless whose lives were forfeited as a result of the European Slave Trade. If we don’t remember them, who will?

“We are linked in both life and death. Those who share common blood relations never break apart” (Nkonsonkonson).

Gather in the parking lot, Saturday, June 13, 2009@ Fort Moultrie, Sullivan’s Island, Charleston, SC, from 9 AM to 1 PM. All are invited: Clergy, Drummers, Elders, and Youth


Schedule:

10:00 AM Fort Moultrie Auditorium

Tour and discussion of the NPS newly installed exhibition: “African Passages”

11:00 AM Proceed to Toni Morrison “Bench by the Road” for the Libation Ceremony

12:00 PM Libation at 12 noon sharp @ the Fort Moultrie Dock in conjunction with national and international African Diaspora communities in Brooklyn, NY; Portobelo, Panama; Cape Coast, Ghana, WA; Oakland, CA, Atlanta and Augusta, GA.


12:15-12:45 PM Proceed to Dock

Bring flowers for offering and fresh fruit to share


34th Annual Odunde Festival Weekend in Philly: June 12-14th 2009

Odunde means Happy New Year! And is a cultural event which honors the ancestors and connects African people with other African people via the medium of art and creative commerce since 1975. Visit http://www.odundeinc.org/Index.htm

Although ODUNDE is best known for its highly visible annual festival, it provides educational, cultural and activist services throughout the year which support its mission. Many of its larger programs are sponsored or presented as collaborations with cultural, educational or business institutions which share ODUNDE's mission.

ODUNDE Weekend Events Schedule: June 12-14


Friday, June 12:

Business Forum for the Republic of Liberia - 9AM - 3PM

Business Forum for the Republic of Liberia at the Federal Reserve Bank, 7th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, PA, Cost: $50. Pre-Registration is REQUIRED. Register at interdependence.org or/and call 484-908-2955


Saturday, June 13:

Saturday, the African Business Roundtable – 9AM - 1PM
The Business Roundtable Ambassadors include: Guinea and Sierra Leone at the Philadelphia Department of Commerce, 1515 Arch Streets - 18th Floor, Philadelphia, PA FREE!!


River Procession - 12 noon – 1:30 p.m.

The River Procession leaves from ODUNDE Cultural Center - 2308 Grays Ferry Avenue (23rd & South Streets)


The Egungun Procession celebrates the memory of our elevated and honorable African ancestors. We humbly request that everyone wear white clothing. Bembe (a drum and dance celebration) will follow the procession.

Sunday, June 14:

ODUNDE Festival and African Marketplace –10 AM. – 8 PM

South Street and Grays Ferry Stage Performances…Following the river procession, performances begin on ODUNDE's stages and end at dusk. As a cultural celebration designed for families to enjoy together, ODUNDE emphasizes performers and craft artists from throughout the African Diaspora whose work celebrates the diversity of traditional African or African-American art forms including: African dance, hair braiding, stepping, roller dance, drill team formations, hip-hop and tap dance, traditional African instruments, drumming, rhythm and blues, and traditional African American popular dance forms. Each year ODUNDE employs over 40 artists. Many have launched their careers from our stage.

The ODUNDE Festival was an originator of authentic African Marketplace festivals, featuring traditional foods, art, crafts, clothing and jewelry. The most colorful aspect of the festival which continues throughout the day, The African Marketplace draws return customers every year. We are grateful to its vendors, who are major supporters of our organization.

Wanda's Picks Radio June 17, 2009

This week we will be speaking to the founder of the Day of Mourning. Begun June 19, 2007, with a terminus of 2013, this day, 12 AM to 11:59 PM worldwide, African people are invited to participate in the collective mourning of our African ancestors who survived and perished the European slave trade. The premise is that mourning is a way to tune the instrument, to relieve our collective soul of the burden of said memory so we can move on as a community. Given the magnitude of the event, one community or a handful of priest, no matter how well-intentioned cannot address this alone--it needs to be communal. African people are asked to take a moment and mourn our ancestors as individuals or as family or as community. There is no wrong way to participate. Everyone is asked to just do something whether that is a verbal or silent prayer, a walk along a body of water, a meditation, lighting a candle, reading inspirational words of one of our ancestors archived in a slave narrative, hosting a discussion.

Please share your experiences here. We'd like to know what you did and how you felt afterwards. If there are images or video footage you can provide links.