The Sankofa Culture and Arts Festival (SCAF) is an annual event meant to bring the community together through food, arts, entertainment and education. Historically, through art, entertainment, and mass media, African people and people of African descent have been portrayed as less in quality than those of a European background. The damage created by a Eurocentric view of the world is immeasurable. The mission of the SCAF organizers is to create an experience that celebrates the contributions to global society by African people, through food, culture and art as a part of the work to discredit and undo notions of inferiority among African children, youth, and elders.
SCAF is meant to bring African people of diverse backgrounds together for a day of celebration and cultural exchange. We do not distinguish between Africans that live on the continent of Africa, and those who were displaced during the Trans-Atlantic trade of Africans into slavery. The basis of SCAF’s mission is to continue the tradition of building a bridge between African people on the continent and of the Diaspora, like the great leaders of the pass; such as Marcus Garvey, Amy Ashwood Garvey, Amy Jacques Garvey, Malcolm X, Claudia Jones, W.E.B. Dubois, Kwame Ture, Walter Rodney, Patrice Lumumba, Amos N. Wilson, Queen Mother Moore, and John Henrik Clarke.
A portion of this year’s proceeds, through donations and other means, will be used to support the continuing work and expansion of the AKERELE Leadership Network's Pan-African Book club located at the Brownsville Heritage House, and the Little Sun People Day Care located at 1360 Fulton St. Brooklyn, NY 11216.
Founded in 1980 by Fela Barclift, Mama Fela redesigned part of her home to accommodate her vision for an African-centered day care. After growing to large for her home, in 1985, Little Sun People, Inc. moved to Restoration Plaza, where they continue to provide services for the community today.
As outlined on their website:
“[The Little Sun People’s] mission is to inform and educate young children by incorporating the story and cultures of all people of color with a particular emphasis on people of African descent, into a robust and comprehensive curriculum designed for the pre-school learner.”
“[Their] vision is to serve an extensive diverse population of children in a spacious state of the art facility that is a nationally recognized early education institution highly regarded for academic excellence while fostering a sense of social competency, personal pride, self-esteem, and strong positive identity in our students for individually and for the communities in which they live.”
We look forward to seeing you at this years' festival!
