Media Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2016
Contact: Ryan Downey, 757/728-5328
[email protected]
Chandra Pittman Walke, 757/816-1579
[email protected]
Remembering the Africans of the Middle Passage at Buckroe Beach
Saturday, June 11, 2016 ~ 11:00 a.m. ~ Hampton, Virginia
Hampton, Virginia- For the 5th year in a row, The Sankofa Projects will host its annual
International Day of Remembrance ceremony at Buckroe Beach. Remembrance honors
the millions of African men, women and children who perished in the Middle Passage of
the Transatlantic Enslavement Trade. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 11,
2016 at 11:00 a.m. at North 1st and Pilot Avenue beachside. Our sponsors for the third
year are the Hampton History Museum and the City of Hampton Parks and Recreation.
“For over 400 years, more than 15 million men, women and children were the victims of
the tragic transatlantic slave trade”, which is noted as “the largest forced migration in
-More-
Remembering the Africans of the Middle Passage at Buckroe Beach- Page 2
history, and undeniably one of the most inhumane” according to the United Nations.
“Millions perished during the enslavement trade and the massacre which occurred in
Middle Passage is one of the untold stories of American and global history. The Sankofa
Projects is committed to telling this story at Remembrance and honoring the Africans
who never made it off the enslavement ships alive,” says Chadra Pittman Walke, Founder
and Executive Director of The Sankofa Projects.
The tradition of Tributes to the Ancestors began in 1987 in Brooklyn, NY and was
spearheaded by author and activist Toni Cade Bambara. Since then, Tributes and
Remembrances occur across the United States and internationally. “Noting the historical
significance of Hampton as the birth place of slavery in North America and where the
seeds of freedom were sown with the "Contraband Decision, I felt it was imperative to
start a tradition of Remembrance in the city of Hampton. We talk about the beginning and
the end of slavery, but what about the middle? That middle story has not been a part of
the conversation nor has it been reflected adequately in the narratives around
enslavement. In 2012, The Sankofa Projects began that conversation with our 1st
ceremony at Buckroe Beach,” says Pittman Walke.
Remembrance is an opportunity for the Hampton Roads community and beyond to learn
about this neglected and untold history, honor the lives that perished and celebrate
cultural traditions of the African diaspora. Traditional African drumming, dance,
theatrical presentations, poetry, meditation, song and traditional African spiritual systems
of Kemet and Yoruba will be expressed. At 12:00 noon, an International Libation will be
orchestrated by Baba Orimalade Ogunjimi of Ile Nago, which will occur simultaneously
across the United States and internationally in Brooklyn, New York, Montgomery,
-More-
Remembering the Africans of the Middle Passage at Buckroe Beach- Page 3
Alabama, Charleston, South Carolina; St. Croix, Virgin Islands and internationally in
Panama, Nigeria and Ghana, West Africa and Brazil.
Through Remembrance, The Sankofa Projects has aligned the City of Hampton with
a larger international movement and has created a sacred space where hundreds
make the pilgrimage annually to Hampton; from as far as Arizona, North Carolina,
Washington, DC, and Richmond, to participate in this historic event and honor these
ancestors,” says Pittman Walke
Attendees are encouraged to wear white or African attire. We remind attendees to bring
beach chairs and umbrellas to shade. You may bring fresh flowers and fruit for the
offering.
This event is free and open to the public; however we ask that all respect the sanctity of
this sacred and historic event.
Partially bordered by the Hampton Roads harbor and Chesapeake Bay, Hampton, with
the 344,000 sq. ft. Hampton Roads Convention Center and the award-winning Hampton
Coliseum, is located in the center of Coastal Virginia and the Hampton Roads
metropolitan area. Hampton is the site of America's first continuous English-speaking
settlement, the site of the first arrival of Africans in English North America, and is home
to such visitor attractions as the Virginia Air & Space Center, Fort Monroe National
Monument, Hampton History Museum, harbor tours and cruises, Hampton University
Museum, The American Theatre, among others.
###