Focus on preserving the history of Black descendants of Africans forcibly brought to America continues to grow. While much of this has to do with the growing denial of America’s true history of complicity with other nations in the robbing of Africans and forcing them into bondage and free labor, it is also due to a growing awareness that if not documented, told, and archived, our history will fade away. It is also the spirit of Sankofa that increases our duty to understand our past in order to move forward into a new future. The saying, “You must know where you’ve been in order to know where you are going,” is an expression of the spirit of Sankofa.
The Sankofa spirit is at the center of the Seattle Griot Project, a new initiative that’s been in the making for over two decades, now being launched alongside the Washington State Black Legacy Institute.
According to their website, the Seattle Griot Project is building this repository to preserve the accuracy and details of memories from all historical content concerning the Pacific Northwest’s Black community’s evolution, from the time of community redlining to the present day.
A number of historical events and activities already reside on the platform, in addition to interviews from history-makers and cultural keepers.
The Seattle Griot Project is a collaborative effort of the Washington State Black Legacy Institute, which aims to preserve and promote lived Black history across generations. This effort seeks to transform cultural narratives and present the culture, history, and stories of the Black community to all residents, visitors, and future inheritors of this legacy. A primary feature of the new space is its use of new technology to bring history into the 21st century, making information not only accessible but also interactive.
The Legacy Institute's grand opening will take place on February 1st at 11 AM, followed by a month-long Black Legacy Art Exhibit through February 28th, 2025. This event marks the formal ribbon cutting to inaugurate the purchase of and residency at the city-landmarked former Christian Science church at 2656 42nd Avenue SW.
The Washington State Black Legacy Institute is another great addition to historic preservation by making use of a historic building in West Seattle and locating untold narratives in the space.
Comments