Sankofa Journey
May 6 – May 8, 2025
Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham
Please see trip and cost details below
Sankofa: To return; to go; to fetch, seek, and take.
From the Akan people of Ghana, Sankofa is the practice of looking back to move forward. Engaging the past is a necessary part of pursuing genuine reconciliation. If we don’t understand our history and how it impacts where we are today, we won’t know how to move forward.
For any true transformation to take place, you must first know the story…Once you know the story, you can humbly own the story.
– Josh Clemons & Hazen Stevens*
Sankofa 2025 is an intentionally multi-ethnic, experiential, and spiritual journey – a pilgrimage. As we travel across the Southeastern United States, we will engage our history by visiting sites important to the Civil Rights movement, along with exploring the history of slavery and legalized segregation in the U.S.
We invite you to join this journey as a humble learner with the posture of a pupil. Sankofa offers us the opportunity to acknowledge and lament foundations of our racially broken and divided present. Only then can we begin to repent, reorient, and pursue authentic reconciliation with God and each other. If we believe God’s kingdom come and will be done on earth as in heaven, then we have laid down our right to be indifferent.*
Previous Sankofa trips have focused primarily on one-on-one conversations with a travel partner. This trip expands the learning model to include personal reflection, along with small- and large-group conversations led by our trip leaders. Due to this model, participants are not required to bring a travel partner.
This year’s Sankofa journey is co-led by Carl Nelson, President of Transform Minnesota, and Nina Barnes. Nina, with over 30 years of human resources experience across diverse organizational settings, brings a wealth of expertise. In addition to her HR background, she serves as a board member of Transform Minnesota and operates Transforming Journey, her spiritual direction and coaching practice. In this capacity, she helps individuals uncover their purpose, navigate challenges, and grow as leaders.
As a Black woman and influential leader in the Twin Cities, Nina enriches the Sankofa journey with her personal stories and insights. Her passion for history and education drives her to highlight the connections between historical events and contemporary issues facing society and the Church. Nina’s role as a spiritual director further enhances her ability to facilitate meaningful conversations and learning experiences. During our three-day journey, participants will benefit from her extensive knowledge and perspective.
* From Know. Own. Change. by Josh Clemons and Hazen Stevens
Nina Barnes is a trained spiritual director and coach with a passion for accompanying others in navigating life. Through Transforming Journey, her spiritual direction and coaching practice, Nina considers it a sacred privilege to help people listen for and respond to possibilities. She creates space for people to discover purpose & meaning, discern opportunities, work through challenges and conflicts, and develop as leaders. Nina is honored to help others experience and embody love, hope, redemption, and a journey of belovedness. Nina has extensive human resources experience, stemming from 30+ years of service within a variety of organizational settings.
