Sankofa

As part of the Sankofa team, you will tour the U.S. South and visit landmarks in the Civil Rights Movement. The trip will take you through an intense experience of our nation’s race history and through a process of exploring your own personal race history.

You will be paired with a partner on the trip, placing a high emphasis on relationships in the reconciliation process. The trip continues to be life changing for those who have participated, and we anticipate that the same will be true for you.

The Purpose

The Sankofa experience gives you an opportunity to engage in a process of lasting authentic racial reconciliation in a safe and challenging environment. As part of a team of diverse individuals, you are invited to look back at the history of racism in the United States in order to move forward, better equipped for the reconciliation upon which the hope of dismantling racism exists.

The Concept

“Sankofa” is a word from the Adinkra language of the Akan people of Ghana, West Africa. It is expressed in the Akan language as se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenki, which literally translates “it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot.”

Sankofa indicates that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward. This concept—like Christ’s redemption—teaches that whatever we have lost, forgotten, forgone, or been stripped of can yet be reclaimed, revived, and preserved for the future.

The Logo

One symbol frequently associated with the term “Sankofa” is the Sankofa bird, which is also referred to as the bird of passage. This bird is looking behind itself, representing the idea that although the bird is constantly moving forward, it continually looks back—to its past.

The Process

Applications are available in the Office of Campus Ministries (HC325; 651.638.6372). Potential applicants are encouraged to apply early in order to begin preparing for this intense experience. Selection of the Sankofa 2009 team will begin near the end of fall semester.

After we receive your application, we may contact you in order to meet in person so that we can get to know you and your heart for this trip. Contact the Office of Campus Ministries at ext. 8529 for more information. A $25 deposit is due with your application.

The Itinerary

Highlights of the trip include the following:

Memphis, Tennessee
National Civil Rights Museum

The trip begins where Martin Luther King Jr.’s life ended. The museum we will visit is formerly the Lorraine Motel, site of Dr. King’s assassination. We will also visit the building across the street from where the fatal shot was fired.

Birmingham, Alabama
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church
Kelly Ingram Park
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

This is an area rich in civil rights history! We will visit the church where a bomb killed four little girls in a Sunday school classroom, the park where police turned dogs and fire hoses on teenage marchers, and a museum that preserves powerful reminders of these events.

Atlanta, Georgia
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Ebenezer Baptist Church

Tour the home where Martin Luther King Jr. grew up as well as the church he led with his father. Spend the day in the King family’s neighborhood and view his final resting place.

Selma, Alabama
National Voting Rights Museum

Cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge where peaceful marchers seeking the right to vote were beaten by police on “Bloody Sunday.” Learn why the timing of this event caught the attention of the nation.

Montgomery, Alabama
Rosa Parks Museum and Library
Civil Rights Memorial Center

The significant history of this area comes to life at a special museum dedicated to Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycotts. We’ll also see how the important work of reconciliation is proceeding in Alabama today.

Jackson, Mississippi
John M. Perkins Foundation

Experience learning, fellowship, and service opportunities. This is our chance to move forward and be a part of the work that continues in the South.