Sankofa Nation  

Join us for our inaugural broadcast - Sankofa Nation celebrates heritage, debates current issues, while consciously cultivating culture and service to humanity.

Welcome to Sankofa Nation!  Why THAT NAME?  Why not?  We are a loose tribe of  what you know as African American folks defining our destiny as a culture in these United States of America.  We are you and you are us!  If you happen to identify with another heritage, then cool---cause if you go back far enough your roots dig into African Soil.  Sankofa Nation is at its heart about humanity; that is, the human experience through the cultural lense of the black people whose ancestors were brought to the shores of the United States to become slaves.  Our contribution to this country and to American culture is undeniable.  Unfortunately, we from the start, lost our specific tribal identifications and were thrust into the oven of oppression.  The recipe of who we are included various other heritages and experiences.  Along the way, our ancestors SURVIVED and we are who we are:  (Insert your choice of name here)  The U.S. popular culture calls us African American, and we call ourselves everything including Nigga.   As a note, that word is dead now:  The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People buried it July 9, 2007.

Rest in Peace Mr N. Word!

I cannot help but notice that Blacks in this country have never really had a cohesive and consistent identity in this country. I believe that there is an opportunity to strengthen the potential for success in this country through positive dialogue mutual respect.  By focusing on on the development of the common values and morals  we share as part of the HUMAN family, we can make more fully define our own cultural destiny.   Let's make our own way by celebrating our past, planning our future, and living in the present moment.  By becoming conscious of our individual selves and community, we can enhance the cultural life events we inevitably experience.   Birth, adulthood, marriage,  are common to all of us.  Although we experience them in many ways, there is no one culturally defined template we can point to and say: That's the baseline for how we as as African Americans experience a particular life event.   Instead, corporate entities easily define for us what we should and should not be/do/purchase when it comes to our very own cultural experience.   There are some common values we share whether consciously or unconsciously.  I am speaking of values that have helped us to both survive and prosper as a people. I further believe that the "Nguzo Saba" or "7 Principles" provides for us a basic premise for said strengthening - and that it's inherent African American nature perfectly compliments the underlying cultural needs of all African Americans. An invitation to people of all cultural backgrounds goes forth, because the principles of Kwanzaa are universal! It's my hope that this exercise can be of some benefit particularly for African Americans, because we desperately need to take active steps toward positively impacting our future in this nation and world. Yes we are American! But to deny our unique cultural needs is to endanger the future of our children. History has shown us this much!

Why do we need this? First, we are, for lack of a better term, a "new breed" of people formed by the circumstances of the not too distant past in this country.  Through our veins, and through our cultural heritage we spy various ancestors: African, Indian, and YES European heritages - and this blend of personages/histories is what makes us - - - US!  Denying any part of our make-up denies of the uniqueness of our being.  Finally, our country's history of slavery and racism has for the past 200 plus years kept an already damaged group of oppressed people from forming the basic cultural foundations necessary to secure traditions and values which are necessary and demanded by the vestiges of our ancestry. So with the realization that we are a NE people with an ANCIENT past, I blog away! - More to come!