Hampton, Virginia, June 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Join The Sankofa Projects’s 13th annual International Day of Remembrance June 8 at Fort Monroe
Attendees asked to bring new or gently-worn shoes for art, donation project
Hampton, Virginia - The Sankofa Projects will host the 13th Annual International Day of Remembrance at Outlook Beach at the Fort Monroe National Monument on June 8 at 11 a.m. The ceremony, held in partnership with the Hampton History Museum, National Park Service, the Fort Monroe Authority and Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau, is free and open to the public.
Remembrance is a spiritual ceremony honoring the millions of African men, women, and children who perished during the Middle Passage of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, “the largest forced migration in history and undeniably one of the most inhumane,” according to the United Nations. Following in the tradition initiated by activist and scholar Toni Cade Bambara in 1989, Chadra Pittman, Founder & Executive Director of The Sankofa Projects, brought Remembrance to Hampton in 2012, to give voice to this untold chapter in the annals of slavery.
“Recognizing the historical significance of Hampton as the birthplace of slavery in North America and where the seeds of freedom were sown through the Contraband Decision in 1861, it was imperative to begin a tradition of Remembrance to Hampton,” said Pittman.
At this year’s ceremony, The Sankofa Projects will launch Souls for the Ancestors Community Art and Donation Project (SACAD). Participants are asked to bring new or gently-worn adult and children’s shoes to the ceremony. Some of the shoes will be used for the art project and others will be donated to Soles 4 Souls. All are welcome to participate in this historic event as we work together as a shared community and give back to our community in need. Join us as we build community one soul at a time.
The day’s events will also include an annual Ceremonial Remembrance Walk around the Tree of Remembrance, a procession to the water, poetry, drumming, and traditional songs and theatrical performances. At 12 p.m., an International Libation will be orchestrated by Baba Orimalade Ogunjimi of Ile Nago and will occur simultaneously across the United States in Brooklyn, New York; Montgomery, Alabama; Oakland, California; Charleston, South Carolina ; St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and internationally.
From New York to South Carolina, and across the Atlantic to Nigeria, these Remembrance ceremonies and tributes to the Ancestors are held to honor this untold history. With UNESCO’s designation of Fort Monroe as a Site of Memory associated with the Slave Route, Sankofa’s ceremony of Remembrance is the missing chapter and completes this shared history of slavery at Fort Monroe.
According to Pittman, “For the millions who died in the dungeons, those captive in the holding cells along the Coast and drowned in the Atlantic Ocean, this ritual of Remembrance is the funeral these Africans never received.”
Attendees are asked to respect the sanctity of this sacred ceremony. Please wear White or traditional African garb. Participants may also bring fresh flowers for the Ancestral Offering. Beach chairs, blankets, and other beach paraphernalia may also be brought to the event. Attendees are also asked to bring your own drums and other music makers to celebrate these Ancestors and this culture!
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Editor’s Note: Founder & Executive Director of The Sankofa Projects Chadra Pittman is available for interviews.
Photo Library:
Remembrance 1: Attendees at The Sankofa Projects Day of Remembrance in Hampton, Virginia. Courtesy of Terez Dean.
Remembrance 2: Attendees at The Sankofa Projects Day of Remembrance in Hampton, Virginia. Courtesy of Terez Dean.
Remembrance 3: Day of Remembrance 2024 event flyer. Courtesy of The Sankofa Projects.
Remembrance 4: Day of Remembrance 2024 Soles 4 Souls flyer. Courtesy of The Sankofa Projects
Partially bordered by the Hampton Roads harbor and Chesapeake Bay, Hampton, with the 344,000 sq. ft. Hampton Roads Convention Center and the award-winning Hampton Coliseum, is located in the center of Coastal Virginia and the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. Hampton is the site of America's first continuous English-speaking settlement, the site of the first arrival of Africans in English North America, and is home to such visitor attractions as the Virginia Air & Space Science Center, Fort Monroe National Monument, Hampton History Museum, harbor tours and cruises, Hampton University Museum, The American Theatre, among others.
