|
Before I begin let me first give you the meaning of Sankofa, which is a tattoo that I have on my right arm and means so much to me. The Sankofa Bird is an Adinkra symbol from Western Africa. Sankofa means, "go back to the past in order to build for the future," or we should not forget our past when moving ahead.
I was thinking since Black History Month has been over for a while, and I know it is the shortest month of the year even with the Leap Year we had this year, how much do we really take advantage of the resources that we at our fingertips to learn about our history. Think about it for a minute. Just about everyone you know has a cell phone, some kind of P.D.A(Blackberry, iPhone, Sidekick, etc.) or some kind of internet service (home, office, phone, laptop, etc.).
Think about how much we use the internet to shop, look up directions, get the latest score, get the latest music release dates, to look up what time a movie or show starts. Think about how much time our children spend on the internet on Myspace, Facebook, to download music, or to learn the newest dance craze from YouTube. Then think about how much time we spend using the exact same internet to look up facts about Black History.
It is amazing how our children can go and learn how to do the “Crank Dat” dance, which was probably the hottest and most popular dance in 2007, as well as spend hours on Myspace but for the most part know nothing beyond Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement when it comes to Black History. I blame my generation and the generations before mine for not practicing what the Sankofa Bird meant to our ancestors.
It is our responsibility to practice the meaning of Sankofa and to teach our children about the past in order for them to move on and succeed in the future. How do we do this you may ask? By utilizing the same resource that we use daily to send e-mails, shop, make reservations, get in chat rooms, and get on Myspace….get on the Internet. Practice Sankofa and do not make Black History, history. |
