Engaging our history to pursue authentic reconciliation.

SANKOFA

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 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.* 

Our 5th Sankofa is happening October 2023.

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. 

* From Know. Own. Change. by Josh Clemons and Hazen Stevens 

Sankofa Upcoming Events

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Sankofa 2023

October 10 - October 13

Sankofa 2023 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.

Sankofa Journey Previous Events

Sankofa Reflection 2022: The Journey to Reconciliation

Dan Crain shares his experience on Transform Minnesota's 2022 Sankofa Journey to Harmony.

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Sankofa Reflection 2022: Weeping for My Ancestors

Sankofa participant's reflection on her time on the 2022 Sankofa Journey to Harmony.

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Sankofa Reflection 2022: Aware of the Past to Transform the Future

Samantha Willis shares her experience on Transform Minnesota's Sankofa Journey to Harmony.

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Sankofa Reflection 2019: From Eeriness to Empowerment

“Several of the stops on our journey brought about an eerie, spiritual connection to my ancestors which was initially unsettling. As we continued, this sensation shifted from eeriness to empowerment as it gave me confidence that the strength of my people who endured these hardships still has the power to be a catalyst for true reflection,” wrote Elder Kyle Jeter, while reflecting on his 2019 Sankofa Journey.

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