The Sankofa Bird The Sankofa Bird has been adopted as a symbol of what Africana Studies strives to do. The word, “Sankofa”, can be translated to mean, “go back to the past and bring forward that which is useful.” The bird is rendered as twisting its beak behind itself, in order to bring forth an egg from its back. Connecting the past with the present allows us to be more effective agents in shaping our understanding of the forces that will have an impact on our collective future as citizens of the planet. We all share the responsibility for defining the terms by which we live. We honor those who have shown us the way and taught us the strategies for survival, endurance and growth.
The Welcoming Table Universality of I as singularity within the plurality, complexity, and multiplicity of We is the source of all Humanity and at the core of Africana.
To be human is to be interconnected to and interdependent on others, so that saying
“I am because We are” affirms personhood and peoplehood and that is doing Africana.
The Sankofa Bird
The Welcoming Table
