Sankofa goes back to the future in the large auditorium at 6 p.m. Friday.
Students attended preview shows in the large auditorium during third period today. The show is open to the public Friday and Saturday, with the pre-show starting at 6 p.m. Friday and noon on Saturday. Tickets are available online or at the door for $10 each.
According to Sankofa adviser Keaf Holliday, this year’s show, titled “Black Excellence 2.0: Changing the Narrative” and “Black to the Future,” expands on the theme of the group’s 2020 performance, “Black Excellence,” while parodying the 1985 film Back to the Future.
The 45-minute student preview show featured dancing, singing and spoken word poetry from student performers. The preview show is the same as the pre-show for the Friday and Saturday performances, but is otherwise separate from the main production. “We give you a snippet of what we’re doing in Sankofa, but by no stretch of the imagination is this the entire show,” Holliday said. “We haven’t even let the cat out the bag as far as what we’re going to be doing for the show.”
“Because the movie is going back in time through the time machine on the DeLorean, we actually have parts of the scene where we go back in time, and that’s how we, you know, revisit our history,” Holliday said. “The emphasis is, kids are going back into their past, and we go all the way back to the ’20s. In fact, we go all the way back to Africa, and it’s an amazing ride.”
Senior Zach Wilson, who is participating in Sankofa for the first time this year, said the show’s plot is more defined than in years past. “This show is an entirely new concept on Sankofa. Before, it was more of a talent show,” he said. “This version of Sankofa is a play [or] musical.”
Senior Javin Ali, a Sankofa task leader who has participated in the program for three years, said students began planning the performance in August. “We started having leaders’ meetings the third week of school,” he said.
Ali said he joined Sankofa after hearing about the experience from family members who enjoyed participating. “Also, I have always wanted to be a part of the inspiration and experience of Black people. So, I love the idea and decided to hop on board,” he said.
Sankofa began in 1998 as a Black History Month kickoff assembly, gaining the name Sankofa, A Twi word from the Akan Tribe of Ghana, the following year. Holliday has advised the student-run group for 18 years. Intervention specialist and Sankofa alumna Brittany Billups joined Holliday as an adviser in 2019.
According to Stockton University, the name translates to “go back and get it,” from an Akan proverb “that encourages learning from the past to inform the future, reaching back to move forward, and lifting as we climb.”
Said Ali, “Sankofa is a great experience. It’s a family.”
Sankofa Changes the Narrative
Cassie Lyles, a sophomore, performs “What Was I Made For?” during the 3B Sankofa student preview in the large auditorium Feb. 23, 2024. The audience responded to the gentle song by swaying along with their phone flashlights, the modern version holding aloft a lighter in emotional solidarity with the performer.
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