Sankofa Emancipation Project

Sankofa, a principle derived from the Akan people of Ghana, teaches that one should remember the past to make positive progress in the future. It challenges us to consider our identity, culture, and personhood as we look back and forward.

The “Sankofa Emancipation Project” taps into the creativity, hopes, and understanding of the continued fight for freedom of our ancestors.  It reconnects us to the history, radical joy, and celebration of “Jubilee Day”. Juneteenth, also known as Jubilee Day, began one year later in 1866 and the new holiday was celebrated in several places across Texas. Former enslaved people and their descendants living in far-flung parts of Texas made a pilgrimage to Galveston, dressed in their finest clothes, partly in response to the pre–1865 statewide laws that had prevented enslaved people from dressing in any clothing not given to them by those who held them in slavery.  Several photographs from these early years of celebration — vividly illustrate elegantly dressed groups in horse-drawn carriages decorated with flowers down to the wheels.

The “Sankofa Emancipation Project” invites us all to look back on our history, and remember that freedom is joy, the reciprocation of human respect, and the ability to live in dignity. This effort is led by artist Kristi Rangel and her fellow creative collaborators—Tamirah Collins, April M. Frazier, and Brittany Mayfield. Their collective efforts will result in several community-based activations designed to create beloved community fueled by radical joy and happiness.

“You will be someone’s ancestor- act accordingly” —Amir Sulaiman

The Ancestor Question

The question of “what kind of ancestor do you want to be” stretches beyond how we individually want to be remembered by our descendants. It is about the systems that we set in motion, every moment of every day. Each of our actions connects people and places across time and space. The Sankofa Emancipation Project calls us to see ourselves already as ancestors. We are all future ancestors, so with the decision-making power that you have now, what kind of ancestor do you want to be?

Ancestor Card Responses

Project Events

The Sankofa Emancipation Project Photo Session at the Eldorado Ballroom and the Juneteenth en Black event at Community Artists’ Collective were graciously supported by: Ion District, Third Ward Cultural District, DiverseCity Realty and our community.

Jubilee Day Photo Credit

Photo 1: Woman parading through Freedman’s Town, Houston, TX, 1908. Photo by Photo by Schlueter.

Photo 2: Daniel N. Leathers, Jubilee Day, Corpus Christie, TX, 1913. Photo by G. McCuistion.

Photo 3: Martha Yates Jones (left) and Pinkie Yates (right), daughters of Rev. Jack Yates, Antioch Baptist Church, Freedman’s Town, Houston, TX 1908. Photo by Schlueter.

For more information about the Sankofa Emancipation Project please send an email to: sankofaep@thecollective.org