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.