By Edmund W. Lewis, Editor
There is an African proverb that says "to forget is
the same as to throw away."
Fortunately, the Sankofa bird
teaches us that it is okay to return to the past to retrieve that which has
been left behind. It is a lesson that has compelled some Africans in the
Diaspora to make the long journey home to the Motherland while others have
sought to establish and renew cultural and spiritual ties to the land of our
forebears.
One such movement to reconnect with those who have gone
before us is Maafa. Kiswahili for "great
disaster," Maafa is commonly referred to as the African holocaust. Maafa observances bring participants into closer communion
with the ancestors who perished during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. By some
estimates, 50 to 100 million African men, women and children were stolen from Africa
and warehoused for shipping to the Western Hemisphere.
Some died in the slave fortresses along the coast of West
Africa, others died during violent raids on African villages.
Still others died in the bellies of slave ships on the high seas en route to an
unknown destiny. All of them are remembered and
honored during Maafa observances.
Commemorating Maafa was the
brainchild of Hunter College
(New York) professor Dr. Marimba Ani, who teaches Black and Puerto Rican Studies. In her
book, Let the Circle Be Unbroken, Dr. Ani talks about the importance of Africans in America
using African language to define their history and experiences. "We needed
a term that would let us claim this experience for ourselves," she told
Essence magazine four years ago. "So I contacted friends who knew various
African languages and asked for a term for disaster.
"The Middle Passage and slavery had their own
horror, which brought on a new kind of horror," she continued. "We
have been duped into believing that we are free and healthy, but we are still
living in Maafa. Only by going through the pain and
the grief can we find our way to Sankofa, an
acceptance of our being, our spirit."
As fate would have it, one of the strongest proponents of
Maafa observances is New Orleans-born the Rev. Johnny
Ray Youngblood, pastor of St. Paul's
Community Baptist
Church. Youngblood told Essence
that he believes acknowledging the pain and horror of the past will help
African America to begin healing the psychic and spiritual damage that has gone
undetected and untreated for centuries. He knows that such a movement to
radically change the way blacks think about the past had to begin with small
steps. "We want to get it out there slowly," he said. "But we
want to get it out there."
The idea of finding healing from acknowledging the pain,
degradation and horror of the past is finding many supporters among
African-American scholars and healers across the U.S. Noted African-centered
psychologist and author Dr. Na'im Akbar
has long expressed his belief that much of what ails African America had its
origins in the Middle Passage and the enslavement of Africans in America. He
contends that the trauma our ancestors endured was so profound and has gone
untreated for so long that African America suffers from what he calls
"posttraumatic slavery disorder.
"Most of our mental confusion and disorder has its
origin in the conditions of slavery and its aftermath," Akbar told Essence. "Much of our condition is due to
PTSD."
At a time when some ministers and houses of worship are
telling believers to ignore skin color and past injustices suffered by Africans
who were enslaved by their European brothers, the Rev. Johnny Ray Youngblood
and other men and women of God are encouraging people of African descent to
confront the ghosts and demons of the past head on in order to move beyond
these psychic wounds. It isn't about blame or finger-pointing. It's about
finding a way to heal and move beyond the many mistakes this nation and others
have made in the name of profit and power.
The beautiful thing is we don't need anybody's permission
to return to the past to heal ourselves. We don't need a national holiday or
local, state or federal permission to commemorate the suffering and sacrifices
of our African forebears.
All we need to do is commit ourselves to remembering and
honoring those who have come before us. By doing so, we ensure that the
suffering and trauma African women, men and children endured was not in vain.
Here in New Orleans,
we will gather for the 5th Annual International Middle Passage Remembrance and
Renewal Day on Saturday, July 3, in Congo Square,
which is located in the historic Treme community's Louis
Armstrong Park.
Participants are asked to wear white clothing and comfortable white shoes.
Gathering time is 5:30am for the
Congo Square Ceremony, which begins promptly at 6am.
At 6:45am the Procession to the River
is slated to begin. A Ceremony at The River will follow at Woldenberg Park's
"Oceansong" monument at 7:15am. Participants are then invited to the Ashe
Cultural Arts Center,
1712 Oretha Castle Haley
Blvd., for a 10am
breakfast meal. After breakfast, participants are invited to view "What's
Going On?" an exhibit by African-American artists that
addresses black-on-black violence. For more information on the Maafa observance in New Orleans,
call (504) 569-9070.
In 2000, Rev. Youngblood recommended the following books
to help interested persons to learn more about the Middle Passage and Maafa observances:
* The Black Holocaust for Beginners by S.E. Anderson
(Writers and Readers Publishing)
* Bearing the Cross by David J. Garrow
(Morrow)
* Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman (Beacon)
* The Luminous Darkness by Howard Thurman (Friends
United)
* Know Thy Self by Dr. Na'im Akbar (Mind Productions)
* Let The Circle Be Unbroken by Dr. Marimba Ani (Nkonimfo Press)
* The Rev. Johnny Ray Youngblood, Monica Walker and
Lolita Jones have compiled a pamphlet titled Strategies for Organizing to
Commemorate the Maafa. To obtain a copy, write Rev.
Youngblood at St. Paul's Community
Baptist Church,
859 St., Brooklyn,
NY 11207
or call (718) 257-1300.
06-28-04
Source: The Louisiana
Weekly
Return to: African Genesis