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Sankofa Kemet: My First Trip to the Motherland By Jahbari Joseph Akua With Chike Akua

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XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX Table of Contents Introduction By Anthony Browder Foreword by Dr. Runoko Rashidi 1

Chapter 1: Planning & Preparation

27 Chapter 2: On Our Way 46 Chapter 3: Lessons From The Ancestors 76 Epilogue: Continuing a Family Tradition 81 Classroom Activities 90 More Great Books & DVDs from Imani Enterprises XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX||||XXXX

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Dedication I dedicate this book to the D’zert Club because without them, this wouldn’t be possible.

www.DzertClub.com

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By Anthony T. Browder

Sankofa Kemet: My First Trip to the Motherland has many lessons to teach us about the world’s oldest documented civilization--lessons about history, science, architecture, religion and astronomy that were written by African people thousands of years ago. But the greatest lessons learned from reading Sankofa Kemet are the lessons about culture and tradition, and the critical relationship between family values and nation building. Kemet was great because of the kings, queens and nobles who established dynasties steeped in family tradition that preserved historical knowledge and passed it down to successive generations. The civilization of Kemet began a slow and steady decline as she lost her cultural moorings and became susceptible to wave after wave of foreign invasions. This lead to the mass exodus of the knowledge keepers from the Nile Valley into West Africa and the subsequent rise of great civilizations in Ghana, Mali and Songhoy. The stability of African families and nations was fractured once again during the great disaster called the “Maafa” as millions of African men, women and children were displaced and enslaved throughout the Americas. Memories of African excellence were erased and replaced by false memories of a people who were said to have never achieved greatness. Most classroom textbooks fail to tell the stories of the enslaved Africans who engaged in mental and spiritual acts of Sankofa by preserving knowledge and traditions that were outlawed by their enslavers. This ancient wisdom was codified in songs, dances and stories that were passed down through the generations. The descendents of those knowledge keepers walk among us today. They are the women, men and children who teach us to remember our past and reclaim knowledge that was lost, stolen and once declared illegal. Within the pages of Sankofa Kemet: My First Trip to the Motherland, Jahbari and Chike Akua have returned to the source and given us a roadmap for building strong and loving relationships between fathers, sons and communities. The Akua family members are twenty first century knowledge keepers who provide us with a model of family values that is sorely needed and worth emulating. If we follow their example and wise instructions we can restore our cultural memories, rebuild our families and become a strong people once again.

Anthony Browder with Jahbari Akua before one of Mr. Browder’s lectures at Tuskegee University regarding his excavation of the tomb of Karakhamun, a 25th Dynasty Nubian Priest in Egypt

Anthony T. Browder, Author and Cultural Historian Washington, D.C. August, 2011

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“History is the light that illuminates the past and the key that unlocks the door to the future.” -Dr. Runoko Rashidi Global African Presence

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by dr. runoko rashidi

“Not only have we been something, as against the claim that we have been nothing, but we have been everything. ‐‐George Wells Parker It is always an honor to be asked to contribute a front piece to a new book. But, in this case, it is a special honor. For it is wonderful to see a kind of passing of the baton, a kind of inter‐generational transmission of wisdom, in the African family. Here we have a new work by one of our cherished youth‐‐brother Jahbari Akua. But it must be said that he comes from good stock. Indeed, Jahbari's dad, Chike Akua is one of our brightest and most gifted scholars. Perhaps it is simply a case of the apple not falling far from the tree! The compilation and publishing of this work may be new but the concept is certainly not. It is the noble continuation of a long tradition. Indeed, the great Edward Wilmot Blyden traveled to Kemet (Ancient Egypt) in 1866, with a major essay about the African roots of Kemet published in 1869. In 1879, Martin Robison Delany wrote the Principia of Ethnology: The Origin of Races and Color, With an Archaeological Compendium of Ethiopian and Egyptian Civilization, From Years of Careful Examination and Enquiry, and detailed the African origins of Nile Valley civilizations. Even before, David Walker and Reverend Henry Highland Garnet kept alive the knowledge that Kemet (Ancient Egypt) was African. These men did not devote volumes to the stereotypical African primitive. They reminded us of the greatness of those Africans who gave civilization to the world. And that is precisely what brother Jahbari has done. Through a firsthand view, as an eyewitness, he captures the essence of what made African people great and what Africans are capable of. So we call on our African Ancestors to bless young Jahbari's endeavor. I am proud of him, and I know that the Ancestors must also be proud. Indeed, one cannot help but wonder what Jahbari's final statement in life will be. But he has certainly gotten off to an excellent start! In love of Africa! Dr. Runoko Rashidi, Author & Historian Los Angeles, California August, 2011

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Chapter 1 Planning & Preparation

“Sharpen your eye and tune your ear, so you know what you see and understand what you hear.” ‐Listervelt Middleton

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Hi, my name is Jahbari Joseph Akua. I live just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. My trip to Egypt was a spectacular adventure and I hope that someday you, too, will visit the motherland.

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Above is the way the name Kemet was written in ancient times

The west African word Sankofa means “to return and retrieve it.” The word Kemet is the original name for Egypt. Kemet means “Black Nation.” The reason my book is called “Sankofa Kemet” is because I learned that we must return to the Motherland, Africa, and retrieve the power of our original history and heritage. The day my father told me he was going to take me to Egypt soon, I immediately started throwing questions at him. Questions like: Are you serious? How long does it take to fly there? How long are we going to be there? When will we be going?

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