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Since 2005 Liberty Hall in collaboration with African Caribbean
Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank (ACIJ/JMB) has held
SANKOFA, an all-day symposium dealing with the history of African
people. Previous SANKOFAs looked at The Impact of Slavery on
Contemporary Jamaica (2005) and African Cultural Retentions
in Jamaica (2006). The theme for this year’s SANKOFA
was: The Trans-Atlantic Trade in Africans,
commensurate with the activities to commemorate the bicentenary of
the abolition of the trade. SANKOFA was held at the Institute of
Jamaica Lecture Hall, 10-16 East Street from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
on Friday, March 2. The presenters and presentations were:
The Origin of the
Trade – Ms. Cavell Francis, Msc. candidate at the University of
the West Indies (UWI), Mona and a member of the Reparations arm of
the Jamaica National Bicentenary Committee (JNBC).
The Beneficiaries of
the Trade - Mr. Cecil Gutzmore, Lecturer, Institute of Caribbean
Studies, UWI, Mona.
The Socio-Economic
Effects of the Trade - Dr. Waibinte Wariboko, Senior Lecturer,
Department of History and Archaeology, UWI, Mona
The Campaign to End
the Trade - Dr. Dave Gosse, Lecturer, Department of History and
Archaeology, UWI, Mona
All the presentations
were engaging and enlightening. During the lunch break, the audience
watched the critically acclaimed film, Sankofa (directed by
Haile Gerima) and were treated to an explosive performance by
Jamaican poet, Payne. London-based Pepukyai Books displayed
a part of their collection on African history and culture in the
foyer of the Lecture Hall.
As usual
SANKOFA was well-supported. Approximately 260 persons attended. The
audience was mainly secondary and tertiary level students from
eighteen institutions. The panels were chaired by Dr. Julian
Cressor, Research Fellow, ACIJ/JMB and Mr. David Brown, Deputy
Director of the Institute of Jamaica. Ms. Nicole Patrick, Acting
Director of Liberty Hall welcomed the audience and Mr. Bernard
Jankee, Director of ACIJ/JMB gave the closing remarks.
Scenes from SANKOFA III |
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