Sunday, October 11,
2026 • Ocean Beach, San Francisco, Fulton Street & The Great Highway
• Predawn / Sunrise Gathering
Theme: FREEDOM ©Wanda Sabir. All Rights Reserved
The ceremony is community-led, community financed by a few people for the
past 31 years. Consider giving a donation today. The theme Freedom runs through
the full arc: MAAFA → SANKOFA → MA’AT → RETURN.
Working principle: remember what was endured, retrieve what sustains us,
restore right relationship, and carry freedom into living.
GATHERING THE CIRCLE
Gathering song: “Many Thousands Gone,” led by Baba Darinxoso Oyamasela
Maafa Theme Song (Call & Response): Brotha Clint, composer/Dedication: for
the Millions
Lead singers: The Teasley Family
MAAFA we remember you.
The Middle Passage/
And All that we’ve been through/
We’re still here/
Lest we forget/
Our heads to the sky/
We cry . . . why? –
(© Clint Sockwell II, Dana Sockwell & Roberta Robinson)
31st Annual MAAFA Commemoration — Freedom
Sister Wanda Sabir: Land, Labor, and Ancestral Genius: An Acknowledgement
Family, now that we have gathered our collective energy and called everyone into this sacred circle, let us ground our feet and our hearts in the absolute truth of where we stand.
Before we take another step into this morning's ritual, we pause to offer our deepest respect and recognition to the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples—the original, rightful, and unceded stewards of this San Francisco peninsula—and the Yelamu people who cared for this specific land for generations.
We honor their ancestors, their elders, and their enduring presence on this earth.
This dirt is our mother, too. The African continent is the birthplace of humanity, and Afrikan history in the Americas did not begin with enslavement. We recognize the histories of free Afrikan people who came to these shores, as well as the generations born here through the transatlantic slave trade and the system of forced breeding that followed.
California is our ancestral home, too. Afrikan people were here before statehood in 1850—as free people and as enslaved people. Our ancestors helped shape this state's agriculture, commerce, communities, and culture. Their descendants continue that legacy today.
And just as we acknowledge the stolen land beneath our feet, we explicitly recognize the stolen labor that built the foundation of this nation.
We honor the millions of Indigenous Afrikans and their descendants, recognizing not only their immense physical labor, but their intellectual, scientific, cultural, and spiritual genius.
Our ancestors did not arrive on these shores empty-handed. They carried civilizations within them—scientific and technical knowledge cultivated across generations, long before their forced arrival in the Americas.
They brought sophisticated agricultural knowledge: the cultivation of rice, the tending of crops, the understanding of soil, water, seasons, and sustainable food systems. They brought expertise in animal husbandry, irrigation, metallurgy, carpentry, masonry, architecture, and engineering.
They brought medical knowledge and healing technologies—herbal medicine, midwifery, childbirth practices, and traditions of caring for the body and community. They were healers, builders, inventors, artisans, farmers, scientists, and keepers of ancestral knowledge.
Their knowledge and ingenuity helped shape this nation's institutions, technologies, infrastructure, and economy.
As this nation marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, we remember that its wealth was built not only through the theft of Indigenous lands and the exploitation of Afrikan bodies, but also through the appropriation of Afrikan knowledge, ingenuity, and invention.
The knowledge and innovations our ancestors brought helped build the foundations of this country. Yet too often, their contributions were claimed by others, their expertise was exploited without compensation, and their names were erased from the historical record.
This, too, is part of the Maafa: the theft of an intellectual and cultural legacy, the attempted severing of a people from the knowledge of their own genius.
And still, that legacy survived.
We honor their profound spiritual wisdom, their traditions of community care, and their determination to preserve life, dignity, and relationship under conditions designed to destroy them.
And we honor their boundless cultural brilliance—the sacred technologies of music, song, dance, language, storytelling, and spiritual expression that transformed American culture and continue to influence the world.
We remember. We reclaim. We honor the ancestors whose brilliance continues to live through us. Aṣé.
As we begin this 31st Annual Maafa Commemoration, we bridge these truths.
We honor the spirit of this land, and we lift up the supreme resilience and genius of the Afrikan Diaspora.
May our ancestors hear us...
may this land hold us...
and may our work today honor them both.
References and Intellectual Lineage
Chancellor Williams, The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D.
Ivan Van Sertima, They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America.
Dr. Marimba Ani, Yurugu: An Afrikan-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought and Behavior.
Dr. Marimba Ani, Let the Circle Be Unbroken: The Implications of African Spirituality in the Diaspora.
Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors.
Good morning and welcome to the 31st Annual MAAFA Commemoration.
We gather before the rising sun to remember our ancestors, to honor those whose
names we know and the millions whose names we do not know, and to affirm the
lives we are living because they lived.
Our theme this year is FREEDOM.
As we move through this morning together, we will remember the Maafa, practice
Sankofa—reaching back for what sustains us—and move toward Ma’at: truth,
justice, balance, harmony and right relationship.
We begin with water.
WATER RITUAL — COOLING AND OPENING THE WAY
One communal vessel is placed at the center. The eldest woman, eldest man,
youngest girl, and youngest boy each pour fresh water into the same vessel,
joining generations in one shared source.
Eldest woman
Eldest man
Youngest girl
Youngest boy
TÚTÙ INVOCATION
As our eldest and youngest come together around this water, we ask for
coolness—for ourselves, for our paths, for the earth beneath us, for the
crossroads before us, and for our ancestors.
Call and Response:
Omi tútù...
Community: May our water be cool and refreshing.
Facilitator: Ọ̀nà tútù...
Community: May our paths in life be smooth and clear.
Facilitator: Ilẹ̀ tútù...
Community: May our homes, our community, and the earth be peaceful.
Facilitator: Tútù Laroye...
Community: May the crossroads be cool and all obstacles be removed.
Facilitator: Tútù Egun...
Community: May the ancestors who walk beside us be cool and elevated.
Entire Circle: Aṣé! (May the words have power!).
Min. Alicia Teasley—Libations and Prayers
“O Source of all Life, our eternal Anchor,
“We turn to You in this sacred circle of memory.
“We stand here as the living evidence of resilience, yet we acknowledge our
place as late arrivals and humble guests in this ancient universe.
“In this space of remembrance, we look back over the waters to fetch the truths
of our ancestors. We invoke the unshakeable dignity of those whose names were
stolen by systems of human dominance, and the millions of unnamed souls who
were treated as mere commodities by the violent monopolies of ownership. We
declare that their value was never defined by their captors, for worth carries
no structural assignment; it is a sacred spark of the Àṣẹ hardwired into the
soul.
“Shield us, O Infinite Presence, from the sharp edges of life's difficult days
and the lingering harms of past conquests. We stand in awe of Your cosmic order
and the natural laws of cause and effect, knowing that the consequences of
systemic friction will always catch up with those who turn away from the truth.
“As we honor our elders and the fragile, sacred web of all living beings, we
pledge to live without causing harm, to protect the vulnerable, and to actively
heal the breaches left behind. While the temporary physical forms of our
ancestors did not physically last forever, their enduring energy remains woven
into our bodies and souls, the soil and the wind.
“You are the source of all blessings, our ultimate Refuge, and Most High”
(reinterpreted by Wanda Sabir).
Lady Sunrise: Calling All Angels
Sister Wanda’s Reflection on Freedom
Today my friend S. Pearl Sharp died a year ago. She said she was going to
attend last year for our 30th Anniversary, and here she is, today on the one
year anniversary of her ascension. S. Pearl directed the film, A Healing
Passage which looks at how the Maafa impacted everyone and every system, yet people
are unaware of how the Maafa changed everything.
We hosted a fundraiser so she could complete the film over 20 years ago. And
here she is again (smile). She said she'd try to make it. . . October 11, 2025.
October 11, 2026. What a sense of humor.
My brother-in-law Rahim was making his ascension as I wrote this talk I am
about to share, Sept. 9. Wow! I didn't know I'd never see him again. He'd been
unable to walk for a long time, but his attitude remained positive and
cheerful. He always wore a smile. He never (frowned or) complained about
anything.
I invite S. Pearl and Rahim to join me now. Ase. Yesterday my Uncle Namon died
in Mississippi. There were 12 in my mother’s family, now there are two—she and
her big sister. I invite these ancestors to stand with me today. I invite them
to use my body in any way they please today within reason (smile). Once again
they have legs, arms, feet, breath…voice.
And so we begin.
This is the 250th anniversary of this nation, yet to its Indigenous Afrikans
the question of liberty which is a human right, remains unanswered. However,
despite this, liberty is an inalienable right. It might be excluded from a
Constitution or Declaration, yet we are born free. Freedom is not granted, we
possess it. We can give it away, but no one can take it.
Our ancestors knew this and this knowledge is what gave them hope. It's hard
having hope when a body is chained or confined. Yet, it is possible. We are
evidence of this hope. Hope is breath that fills spaces to capacity when one is
submerged in systems that deny our peoplehood and with it our innate rights to
freedom, justice, equality and resources to sustain our lives.
Air is freely given. The symbiotic exchange between plants and mammals is a
seamless example of how easy it is to live without harm. There is enough air
for every body. Invisible, we take what we need and let the excess go.
What if this simple action were adopted consciously? We take only what we need.
What we can't control we release: control over people, places, things.
We mind our own business. We ask rather than assume. We listen without
judgement. We cultivate curiosity. What if we believed, really believed we were
enough just as we are right now? What if, we loved our crooked teeth, short
leg, aged hip . . . just as it is right now? What if, we practiced gratitude?
What are you thankful for?
If you can hear me your ears work even if they need assistive aides. If you
woke up this morning, you are still an earthling. If you are smiling, your
heart works. If you feel the breeze or mistiness in the air, your sense of
touch is active. What are you thankful for?
Some people say thank you is a prayer. I agree.
I think freedom is recognition of what one can touch and feel. Freedom is
abstract only if it lives on a page, in an archive or on lips positioned to
deny one's rights to something innate. Freedom is not something someone or a
system can take. This might be why, once physically released from captivity
African Ancestors were building communities: Black townships, even serving as
elected officials until whiteness erased these democratic ideals. Envy has been the death of many people that
look like we gathered here.
However, death is a process, just like life. We don't fear it. We know
impermanence means we have to value this time in these bodies because it is a
limited contract with Earth Mama and the Egbe or celestial beings. We have a mission when we arrive. It's an
opportunity we can fulfill if we center ourselves, stay curious, ask ourselves
the right questions, take care of our flesh bodies, and practice gratitude.
Gratitude is how we stay free. So what are you grateful for? What are you
thankful for? Do you ever stop and literally count your blessings? Do you ever
write spiritual thank you notes? Do you pick up the phone or get on the bus and
show up like a greeting card on someone's porch you love? Love, freedom,
gratitude...they are synonyms.
Hum. I am standing on the corner near my apartment writing this, Wednesday,
Sept. 9. Just treated my body to a massage and acupuncture. The monarch
butterflies were dancing around milkweed flowers and I spied turkeys chillin
beneath a bush. It's very warm today. I feel like grapes, so I am walking to
the store, I think. I might turn around, go home and get my car. I might walk
to the beach first. I am wondering what's best for this 68 year old body. How
are you feeling girlfriend? I ask.
Hum. Freedom. Gratitude. Curiosity. Curiosity gets a bad rap. It didn't kill
anything. The word "why" is a part of our DNA. We have minds
programmed to keep our flesh house alive, well, and safe. However, we can rest
our minds. When we rest in stillness, we notice freedom.
How does it feel? Quiet your breath. Breathe in to a count of 4; hold the
breath for a count of 7. Release the breath to a count of 8. Make the sound of
the waves: shhhh as you exhale.
Let's do this three more times.
Let's release old stories and bookmarks to landscapes we have left behind us. We
don't want any hitchhikers.
Repeat after me:
“I call all my energies back from all the times, all the places, all the
events, all the planes, all the dimensions and release any bonds ties or cords
and bring myself back into full sovereignty. And so it is!” (Lisa Drake’s
Energetic Reset), InsightTimer App).[1]
Develop a freedom practice. I hoped perhaps the 42 Ma'at Ideals could help us
develop a collective practice, bound by our shared remembrance of the Maafa or
great calamity, Sankofa, our historic legacy or medicinal treasure chest and
again Ma'at-- a shared belief in freedom which comes from living an intentional
life.
Freedom is a practice. Freedom is a gift and freedom is attractive, therefore
not guaranteed. I can't tell you how to practice freedom. However, our
ancestors prayed. They believed in a higher power or creative energy called by
many names or none. Our ancestors stayed free because they knew, they really
knew that the evil present in their lives was not going to shape their actions.
They moved with intention or mindfulness. They practiced loving kindness,
compassion, joy, equanimity--right thinking, right action, right livelihood.
This is where freedom lives. Free people look different. They have light all
around. They know they are never alone because our ancestors live in us,
literally and spiritually. We are flesh of the flesh that came together to make
us. Sometimes these two aspects of the creation triangle challenge how we feel;
however, our families of origin and the circumstances that have passed or we
are currently working through do not diminish our freedom.
Freedom is always present. It is present in our choices. So anyhoo. I have said
a lot. Pick up a bookmark. Practice Ma'at with your family this year. Make a
friend: call that person your accountability buddy.
Perhaps the person you will bless with the symbolic red road or red bracelet
can become your accountability buddy for 2026-2027? This suggested practice is
something new for Maafa Commemoration SF Bay Area's 31st anniversary.
Check in periodically with your buddy to affirm each other.
Ask: How are you staying free? Share: I did this today. Share: I slipped into
captivity for a moment the other day, and then I caught myself with the breath.
I just stopped and took a couple cleansing breaths.
Maybe you might want to do a morning meditation together or an evening
gratitude share? I am going to be hosting a few gatherings in the redwoods for
wxmxn before it gets wet. If you are interested in joining Souljourning for
Truth Ministry[2]
let me know. Text, call or email. It is for older womxn, 60+; however, womxn
45+ are also welcome. It is not a Black space, rather a women space.
We will have a virtual film festival soon. Sign the mailing list. Drop money
into the donation jar or hat. Two men are carrying Maafa Commemoration@31
financially and everyone is volunteering. I started this ritual when I was 37,
31 years ago. We need a bigger team.
We will pass the microphone now for you to share thoughts on freedom.
Consider: What is freedom? Where are you free? Where are you still
becoming free? What does living freedom ask of you? How do you know you are
free? How do you stay free? Share a little of your practice.
You can share a song, a prayer, a revelation, a thought. . . be succinct (1-2
minutes) but add your voice to the kettle we are stirring right now
RITUAL OF FORGIVENESS — FREEDOM THROUGH RELEASE
The Freedom Circle turns toward the question: What might I need to
release so that I may live more freely? Forgiveness here is not forgetting or
excusing harm. It is a ritual of releasing what one no longer chooses to carry.
Song: Nube Brown—A Song about Love by Tuck and Patty
Sister Wanda leads: Ritual of Forgiveness[3]
Call and Response (Red Roses passed out)
Soft Drumming
Some confuse forgiveness with amnesia and reluctantly remain bound to a
millstone and drown in a sea of regret.
Children of the fishermen know the sea to be primarily a place of nourishment,
renewal and fond farewells.
We will always cherish the memory of those who go before us.
Our ancestors walk through the corridors of our minds setting sign posts to
guide us into our rightful legacy, and so
We will always cherish those torn from us in the middle passage by corporate
greed,
Those torn from us by Jim Crow violence still speak to us as we weave our own
destinies,
The bitter taste of unripe fruit felled by drive-by shootings still linger in
the recesses of our souls, and we can hear the cries of youth stolen by
neglect, pestilence and starvation,
Yet, we must go forward if we are to honor their memories,
We must cast away all impediments to progress if we are to honor lives lost to
greed and fear
And so today we choose . . .
We choose compassion of our own free will and we consciously reject the lure of
revenge.
Today we choose understanding over blame,
And like our South African cousins we choose truth and reconciliation over
ignorance and bigotry.
We choose to be confident and to have confidence in each other, for we are not
victims, but warriors.
We choose to acknowledge our choices, as we acknowledge that our determination
to do so is the foundation of our freedom.
As you recite and agree with the words above invest the red flower with any
negative energy you choose to cast off, removing petals as you do so.
Let the petals fall to the ground, and bury them in the sand along with the
remains of the flower—
© Sister Sheba Makeda Haven
Baba Dar: “I’m Building Me a Home”[4]
EMBODIED FREEDOM from Toni Morrison’s Beloved (Chapter 9)
“Let the children come,' and they ran from the trees toward her. 'Let your
mothers hear you laugh,' she told them. And the woods rang. The adults looked
on and could not help smiling. Then, 'let the grown men come,' she shouted.
They stepped out one by one from among the ringing trees. 'Let your wives and
your children see you dance,' she told them. And ground life shuddered beneath
their feet. Finally, she called the women to her. 'Cry,' she told them. 'For
the living and the dead, just cry.' And without covering their eyes, the women
let loose. It started that way, laughing children, dancing men, crying women.
And then it got mixed up. Women stopped crying and danced. Men sat down and
cried. Children danced. Women laughed. Children cried until exhausted.”
Inspired by the structure and themes of Baby Suggs in the Clearing in Toni
Morrison’s novel, Beloved.
Children are invited to laugh.
Men are invited to dance.
Women are given space to cry.
Then the whole community is invited into a reclamation and loving of the Black
body. Continue for 5 minutes. Do not stop.
Music / drum cue
Sister Wanda: Movement Meditation (Tai Chi Chih)
1. The Shake-Out & Ase Friction (Warm-Up)
The Grounding: Stand comfortably with a wide, loose stance.
The Action: Gently shake your hands, wrists, and body to break up any morning
stiffness. Then, vigorously rub your palms together until you feel friction and
heat, and lightly pat down your arms, chest, and legs to wake up your Ase and
circulation.
2. Rocking Motion (9 times total)
The Grounding: Stand with your feet in a small, fixed V-shape. Keep your knees
soft and your tongue resting automatically on the roof of your mouth.
The Footwork: Rise up on the balls of your feet (heels lift slightly), then
come down flat and rock back to lift your toes.
The Movement: Your hands trace a soft, vertical oval shape up to chest height
and down, timed perfectly with your rocking.
3. Around the Platter Variation (9 times Left, 9 times Right)
The Grounding: Place your left heel out into a forward stance. Both feet stay
flat and glued to the sand as you shift your weight forward and back.
The Movement: Start by holding and shaping your Chi/Ase ball on your left side.
The Action: Move your hands across your body to the right side. The moment you
reach the halfway point on the right side, open your fingers and drop/let go of
the energy completely. Flatten your hands to loop back to the starting side to
gather a fresh ball of energy.
The Switch: After doing this 9 times, return to center, place your right heel
out, and repeat 9 times in the opposite direction (starting right, crossing
left, and dropping it).
4. Carry the Ball to the Side (3 steps Left, 3 steps Right — Repeated 3 times)
The Grounding: You will actively walk sideways through the sand [taichichih.org]. Keep your hips completely
level—don't bob up and down.
The Footwork: "Gather your pitch" by holding an energy ball at your
torso. Take a side-step by touching your moving heel down first to test the
shifting sand, flatten the foot, glide your weight over it, and slide the
trailing foot in to meet it [taichichih.org].
The Rhythm: Take three side-steps traveling left, close your feet, and repeat
until you've done 3 left trips [taichichih.org]. Roll the ball over and take three
side-steps traveling right back to your starting spot, repeating until balanced
[taichichih.org].
5. Pulling in the Energy (9 times Left, 9 times Right)
The Grounding: Step one foot forward [taichichih.org]. Both feet stay frozen flat on the
sand as you rock forward and back [taichichih.org].
The Movement: Keep your palms facing your chest [taichichih.org]. As you shift your weight, lightly
flutter and pulse your fingertips, physically pulling fresh ocean energy from
the far horizon straight through your fingers into your heart center.
6. Passing Clouds (9 times total)
The Grounding: Step your feet wide apart. Your feet stay completely stationary
on the sand.
The Footwork: Seamlessly glide your weight sideways from your left hip to your
right hip with soft, un-locked knees.
The Movement: Your hands trace smooth, alternating figure-eight arcs across
your face. Do not follow your hands with your eyes—keep a soft, stationary gaze
straight out at the ocean and let the "clouds" pass by.
7. Light at the Top of the Head / Light at the Temple (6 Cycles Total)
PART 1: Light at the Top of the Head (Do this whole block 3 times)
The Grand Opening: Scoop energy up the center of your body until your wrists
hover right over the crown of your head (fingertips pointing up) [taichichih.org].
The 3 Flicks: Rise softly onto your toes and swing your wrists outward and back
inward 3 times [taichichih.org].
The Circling (6 Seconds): Lower your heels flat [taichichih.org]. Gently twirl your wrists inward
toward each other for a silent, slow count of 6 seconds [taichichih.org].
The Hold (6 Seconds): Keep your hands completely still over your head, palms
facing each other, for a silent count of 6 seconds [taichichih.org].
The 3 Deep Sinks: Keep your hands frozen over your head [taichichih.org]. Keep your feet completely flat on
the sand [taichichih.org]. Bend your knees to sink down, and
straighten them to rise up [taichichih.org]. Repeat this sinking 3 times [taichichih.org].
The Grand Close: Sweep your arms widely out and down to your sides in a giant
circle. On the way down, your right hand crosses under your left hand.
PART 2: Light at the Temple (Do this whole block 3 times)
The Grand Opening: Scoop energy up and bring your palms to hover a few inches
away from your temples (the sides of your head) [taichichih.org].
The 3 Flicks: Swing your wrists outward and back inward 3 times next to your
temples [taichichih.org].
The Circling (6 Seconds): Gently twirl your wrists forward and around for a
silent count of 6 seconds [taichichih.org].
The Hold (6 Seconds): Keep your hands frozen and still next to your temples for
a silent count of 6 seconds [taichichih.org].
The 3 Deep Sinks: Keep your hands frozen next to your temples [taichichih.org]. Keep your feet completely flat on
the sand [taichichih.org]. Bend your knees to sink down, and
straighten them to rise up [taichichih.org]. Repeat this sinking 3 times [taichichih.org].
The Grand Close: Sweep your arms widely out and down to your sides to
gracefully conclude the movement [taichichih.org].
8. Windows of Eternity (1-Minute Meditation Finale)
The Grounding: Stay rooted in your stationary V-stance. Keep your body relaxed
and calm.
The Window: Bring your hands to eyebrow/Third-Eye level, about 5 inches from
your face [taichichih.org]. Touch your thumb tips together
(forming the bottom base) and your index finger tips together (forming the
arched top) to create a clear diamond viewing window [taichichih.org]. Relax your other fingers [taichichih.org].
The Vision: Look directly through the window of your hands [taichichih.org]. Let your eyes focus past your
fingers and gaze into the infinite horizon of the morning sky and ocean [taichichih.org]. Breathe through your nose and let
your energy merge with the universe.
Announcements
Let’s visit Nengi Omuku at the deYoung Museum today. People are also
encouraged to see “Mildred Howard, Poetics of Memory,” which closes at the
Oakland Museum on Sunday, October 18, 2026.[5]
Again sign our mailing list. Please stay in touch: maafasfbayarea.com@gmail.com
(510) 397-9705. Take a bookmark from the table for the family. Let us know how
your freedom practice is coming along. Let's be free together.
Note for facilitator: Explain the rest of the ceremony: move to smaller circles around bowls filled
with ocean water.
Once in the smaller circle choose a partner for the red thread ceremony. Perhaps
parents with children can team up. Once we have spread out and covered the
sacred landscape, we will start.
We will lead you in a guided meditation where you will sprinkle ocean water on the red thread, tie three knots in the thread, Maafa, Sankofa, Maat, and then tie the thread on your partner's wrist.
Each step is a call and responsive prayer. We will do this twice. Once everyone
has their red thread on their wrist we will all take a white flower from a
bucket and walk to the water for prayers, salutations offerings.
This concludes the Maafa Ritual however, please join us for food, beverages,
music and conversation. I hope to see some of you at the deYoung museum which
is not far by car. If you drive up Fulton Street to get here, you passed the
museum entrance and parking lot.
MA'AT — FREEDOM IN RIGHT RELATIONSHIP
Min. Alicia gives a brief introduction to the goddess Ma'at. We will recite the
42 Ideals. Call and Response. Freedom is not only release from restraint; it
asks how we live with one another once we are free.
Guides assist with MOVEMENT INTO SMALLER CIRCLES
Participants move from the large circle into approximately ten smaller circles.
Each small circle has a bowl of ocean water with one white flower floating in
it.
Participants pair with a partner BEFORE the knot ritual. Each person knows
whose bracelet they are preparing.
OCEAN-WATER BLESSING
Facilitator: Dip your fingers into the ocean water and bless the strand you
will give to your partner.
Community: I sprinkle these sacred waters upon this strand.
We bring water and earth together to carry the story of our people. Aṣé.
THE THREE KNOTS
Facilitator: Tie the first knot. This knot is Maafa.
Community: With this first knot, I honor the Maafa.
I remember the ocean, the ancestors, the trauma, and the blood.
I acknowledge the pain so that we may heal.
Facilitator: Tie the second knot. This knot is Sankofa.
Community: With this second knot, I practice Sankofa.
I reach back into history to reclaim our medicine, wisdom, and identity.
I take back what was stolen to build the future.
Facilitator: Tie the third knot. This knot is Ma’at.
Community: With this third knot, I step into Ma’at.
I call forward truth, justice, righteousness, and perfect cosmic balance.
I commit to walking in alignment with the universe.
Entire Circle: AṢÉ!
SILENT PARTNER EXCHANGE — SEALING THE BRACELET
The exchange begins in silence. Partners decide silently who gives first.
The receiver holds out the wrist on which they wish to receive the bracelet.
The giver gently places the strand around the wrist, looks into the receiver’s
eyes, adjusts the fit, and waits. When the fit is comfortable, the receiver
gives a silent nod. Only then is the bracelet tied. Tie the knot 2-3 times.
SEALING PRAYER
The giver repeats the prayer while tying:
I bind this medicine to your wrist.
Locked by the ocean,
anchored by the land...
carried by the strength of the people.
Wear this in power, healing, and truth... until the earth naturally takes it
back.
Partners may embrace, then they switch roles and repeat the same silent
exchange, eye contact, nod, sealing prayer, and optional embrace.
After both partners have given and received, everyone remains in silence.
WHITE FLOWERS & SILENT PROCESSION TO THE OCEAN
Several buckets of clean white flowers are positioned along the route out
of the bracelet circles.
Facilitator: Remain in silence. As you leave the circle, take one white flower.
Carry it with you as we walk together to the ocean.
No further talking. Participants take one white flower as they pass the buckets
and walk quietly toward the water.
The bowls of ocean water—with one white flower still floating in each—are
carried forward with the circles.
AT THE OCEAN — RETURN
Ocean prayer / invocation
Suggestion
Remember the ancestors: those whose names were lost, those whose names are
known, those who survived, and those yet to be born.
The water carried in the bowls is returned to the ocean.
RETURN TO JOY
The silence ends. Music, food, conversation, children, greetings, photographs,
laughter, and fellowship return the gathering to living community.
Baba Darinxoso Oyamasela: Closing/celebration song Lift Ev’ry Voice;
Lovely Day
Sign the
mailing list. We accept donations. Freedom isn’t free. The Maafa Commemoration
is not funded by any grants. We are all volunteers. Please send checks to P.O.
Box 30756, Oakland, CA 94604. We also accept cash. Make checks out to Wanda
Sabir re: MAAFA San Francisco Bay Area. MAAFA San Francisco Bay Area is a
project of Souljourning for Truth Ministry, a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization.
Donations are tax-deductible. We have a wish list (smile).
Contact information: maafasfbayarea.com@gmail.com, 510-397-9705.
Appreciations, Deep Bows and Thank Yous: First we thank the Almighty One by
many names and none. We thank the spirit that allowed us to rise this morning
when so many did not. Deep bows to the 2026 team: Nube Brown, Kwalin Kimaathi,
Wanda Sabir, Marcus “Zahir” Blevins, Baba Dar, Lady Sunrise, Laura McCoy, Dr.
Nunley’s ABPsi Team, Min. Alicia Teasley and her family, Necole Traylor,
Charlene Gumbs, Baba Che and the Community Ready Corps who provide security. Much respect!
Again, monetary donations are welcome! In some communities, it’s called Gift
Economics, sadaqah[6]
and dāna[7], generosity.
Soundtrack: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3wIbP6LA7skpT2BCQHtTZw?si=Nl_ZUTKwSXi7L2F658TV5w
Questionnaire
Name
_____________________________________
Email
_____________________________________
Address_____________________________________
Phone number ____________________________
Website________________________________
Mailing
Address _____________________________
MAAFA SF Bay Area needs a person with fundraising skills, technical support--
web design, outreach; a liaison, assistant to the CEO, audience development,
researcher, publisher, a vehicle--car, van, camper, property-- live work,
commercial, a gallery.
You can also
record a message here: 510-397-9705
1) How many
Maafa Commemoration Rituals and other programs have you attended?
2) Why did
you come?
3) List 3-4
elements which were most meaningful to you and why
4) Will you
return and bring others next year?
5) How would
you like to be involved in Maafa-related activities during Maafa Awareness
Month (October) and throughout the year? What expertise or skills would you
like to share?
6)
Profession/Skills
7) Anything
else?
Return Questionnaire to: maafasfbayarea.com@gmail.com. Donations can be sent to the organization via Zelle: wandasabir@gmail.com
[1] I use this free tool called
InsightTimer and there a person can find meditations, classes, and other tools
to help them lead a more engaged, happy and peaceful life.
[3]
Recommended song: India Irie https://youtu.be/HKMxgKsD0cw?is=Wr3umj20SNT7cl65
[4] “I’m Building Me a Home” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h0dn7tAa6Y)
[5]
Here are two reviews about these wonderful exhibitions: https://wandasabir.blogspot.com/2026/10/nengi-omukus-gathering-reflective.html
https://wandasabir.blogspot.com/2026/09/mildred-howard-poetics-of-memory-review_01315475998.html
[6] Sadaqah
is a voluntary act of charity or righteousness given freely in Islam to please
God.
[7]Rather
than a simple transactional donation, dāna represents the voluntary
practice of giving from the heart without expecting anything in return. The
Spiritual Purpose: It is considered the very first step on the Buddhist path
and the first of the ten perfections (pāramīs). It is practiced to
cultivate non-attachment and diminish the ego.
