15^th Annual Tribute to Our Ancestors of the Middle Passage

he 15^th Annual Tribute to Our Ancestors of the Middle Passage will be celebrated on Saturday, June 12^th, from 12 noon to sunset on the Coney Island Boardwalk at West 16th Street (Ancestor’s Circle) in Brooklyn. Sponsored by the People of the Sun Middle Passage Collective and Akeem Productions in conjunction with Medgar Evers College, this annual tribute is in remembrance of the tens of millions of Africans who, after being kidnapped from their homeland, died during the voyage across the Atlantic - the Middle Passage - their bodies plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, the largest African burial ground in the world.

Over the years, this all-day tribute has attracted national and international media attention as more and more folks come from all over to participate in this moving day of music, dance, spoken word and prayer that seeks to evoke and memorialize the ancestors.

One of the people who has been involved in this annual event since its inception is Medgar Evers College Adjutant Professor of History, Richard Green. He said that the whole idea of the tribute started with the feeling, "People should 1) begin recognizing the importance of ritual and 2) stay connected with the ancestors that came before us and gave us the shoulders on which we stand.

"This is an opportunity to come down to Coney Island," he continued, "participate in the rituals and celebrate the cultural experience of being here in the Diaspora, and, at the same time, remaining connected with history."

Green went on to say that in every culture, participating in rituals keeps people linked together and focused on recovering those things they may have lost. "What we do is continuously re-dedicate ourselves to the past and to the future," he stated.

Prof. Green spoke, too, about the meaning of Brooklyn and its rich history as to people of African descent. He explained that the first Blacks were Moors, mariners who came as equal partners with the explorer Henry Hudson in 1609. Later, enslaved Africans were brought to Coney Island where they were auctioned off before being taken South. Still later, many of the anti-slavery societies were based in Brooklyn, including Rev. Henry Beecher’s Plymouth Church. The last enslaved Africans to be freed in New York were freed in Brooklyn.

Green also mentioned the many contributions that Brooklynites of African ancestry have made to this country, which will also be celebrated at the tribute. This includes Madame X, as she is called, who helped save the Revolutionary War by warning George Washington of the incoming British and Hessians.

On June 12^th, at exactly 12 noon - simultaneously with other Tributes to the Ancestors being held elsewhere around the world – representatives of the New Kemit Society will pour the libation. This will be followed by a special drumming tribute by numerous drummers and musicians. This year's special tribute will be to Cheryl Byron, James Davis, Chief Bey and all our newly departed ancestors.

Following the drumming tribute, there will be an exciting array of speakers such as Professor James Small, Dr. Mary Umolu, Ali Abdul Perez and Dr. Zala Taylor. Their comments will be interspersed with singers, drummers, dancers and other cultural presentations by Osagyefo, Lisa Muhammad, Shanto, Something Positive, Jah Jah the Mighty Tranquil, Pharm Boyzz, K55, Ngoma, Heru Ptah, Tehut Nine, Kowteff, Ababa and E.P.M.D. Squad, the Imani Singers, Dancers & Drummers' Ensemble, Supported by PRIDE-Coney Island and others. There will also be special performances by Positive for Children, Crown Heights Youth Collective and The Children’s Legacy & Performing Arts.

To reach Coney Island Beach, take the F or Q subway to the last available stop. If you can, please bring flowers for the Ancestral Offering and a drum, shekere, or other musical instrument to use to give praise. Ancestral drumming will occur all day, so all drummers are invited.

For more information, contact Akeem at (718) 270-4902.