College of Arts & Sciences
Campus Ministries
Matt Runion,
Interim Campus Pastor
Office of Campus Ministries
Location: HC325
Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Phone: 651.635.8757
Email: matthew-runion@bethel.edu
Sankofa
March 21-29, 2008
The Trip
The Sankofa team will tour the U.S. South and visit landmarks in the Civil Rights Movement. Participants will be guided through an intense experience of our nation’s race history and through a process of exploring his or her own personal race history. Team members 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
Participants are given an opportunity to engage in a process of lasting authentic racial reconciliation in a safe and challenging environment. Diverse individuals 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 2008 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. 6372 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.
Last Team: Spring Break 2007
Click here for
the final report from Sankofa 2007.
