SankofaNow USA is an 8 to 12 sessions racial healing and unity program designed for churches and Christian institutions, including , but not limited to colleges and universities, that culminates in a 4-day journey through the Southern United States. We explore the historical, scientific, theological, psychological, sociological and artistic dimensions of racial reconciliation and human wholeness and flourishing through films, lectures, dialogue and discussion. The trip includes visits to significant historical sites and relevant educational institutions, and meetings with local educators, among others. The sites include Selma, AL the site of Bloody Sunday and the National Voting Rights Museum; Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN where the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Jacob Burkle’s home part of the Underground Railroad Network, The National Museum of Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL, etc. Each trip is uniquely designed to suit the needs of the individual groups.
Thursday | Evening
DEPARTURE
We typically leave on Thursday evening and spend the night on the road on the bus. The bus also serves as a mobile classroom where we watch and discuss relevant documentaries and films. It also provides opportunities for paired partners to get to know one another on a deeper level.
Friday | 16th St. Baptist Church
Birmingham, AL
Historic Baptist Church, located in the Commercial District of Birmingham was the site of what Dr. King would later describe as “”one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity”–a bombing that killed 4 African American girls–14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and 11-year-old Cynthia Wesley–and permantly blinded Addie’s sister Susan who survived.
Now restored, it is a symbol of hope and restoration.
Friday | Tuskegee University
TUSKEGEE, AL
The school was founded on July 4, 1881, as the Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers. Now Tuskegee University, it has a storied history with famous Black educators such as Booker T. Washington, and George Washington Carver. It remains a model of Black uplift and ingenuity.
Friday| National Memorial for Peace & Justice
Montgomery, AL
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is the first memorial of it kind dedicated to the victims of lynching in the United States. it provides space for truth-telling, personal reflections, healing, hope and reconciliation. We will also have the opportunity to hear more about the work of EJI –Equal Justice Initiative and Bryan Stevenson- featured in the movie Just Mercy
Saturday| National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel
Memphis, TN
Built on the very site of Dr. King’s assassination, The National Civil Rights Museum, ” is steadfast in its mission to share the culture and lessons from the American Civil Rights Movement and explore how this significant era continues to shape equality and freedom globally.” It is a source of inspiration for those who desire to make this country a better place for all.
Saturday| Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum
Memphis, TN
Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum is one of very few privately-run museums located on the property of of Jacob Burkle, a German immigrant who risked his life and that of his family to help escaped African slaves. His story and the museum are testament of courage and commitment to do what is right. Here, we learn about some of the ingenious means of communication of the Underground Railroad network.
Saturday & Sunday| Beale Street & Church Service
Memphis, TN & Ferguson, MO
No trip is complete without a stop at historic Beale Street for a chance to savor some real Southern Cuisine and entertainment. Beale Street has the distinction of being once the only place where People of Color could shop and eat in Memphis, but is now an integrated hotspot in Memphis. Wee conclude the trip with a brief tour of Ferguson and attend a church service in the area before we head back!
OUR APPROACH
An immersion trip that uses inter-group dialogue strategies facilitated by experienced leaders. It is designed to affect the whole person—mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical.
- Multidimensional—It seeks to affect the whole person—mind, heart and body. The first two—mind and heart—are easily understood. History, and the telling of it, impacts how we think and feel(1). What has been neglected until recently is the physical impact of enduring racism, injustice, and trauma and re-traumatization. We know emotional trauma has physical impact. (2)
- Multidisciplinary—The history of race, racism and of Africans in the New World is tainted by so many mixed motivations that to unravel it requires serious engagement with all the various arguments that shaped the existing narratives. Those arguments have at times been theological, scientific, historical, sociological, psychological, etc. The readings and discussions will cover history, science, theology, sociology, psychology among other disciplines.
- Immersion— The trip is designed to put participants in contact with the daily realities of life in the country. Whenever possible, we will interact with local professionals, artisans, educators, etc.. This is not intended for tourists, who would like to stay in fancy hotels and sip their Piña Colada. This is first and foremost an educational opportunity constructed to stimulate the whole person. It is meant to be a transformational experience. We will visit many places, perhaps even more places than the average tour, but our framework and the motivation for these visits are different. We seek to educate and transform.
REFERENCES
(1)L Comas-Díaz and F M Jacobsen, “Ethnocultural Allodynia,” The Journal Of Psychotherapy Practice And Research 10, no. 4 (2001 Fall 2001): 246–52.
(2)Allison Crawford, “If ‘The Body Keeps the Score’: Mapping the Dissociated Body in Trauma Narrative, Intervention, and Theory,” no. 2 (2010): 702, https://doi.org/10.1353/utq.2010.0231.