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Capture the Moment
CAPTURE
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5 Howard University’s Beacon Liturgical Dance Ministry perform during the Celebration of Black Women in Ministries.
4 Pastor Siziwe Chili of Durban, South Africa, receives the Trailblazers UnSung She-roes award. 5 Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook introduces honorees with a comedy routine during the Celebration of Black Women in Ministries.
4 Rev. Jeri Wright presents Pastor Frances "Toni" Draper Baltimore, MD with the Trailblazers and UnSung She-Roes award.
3 Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook presents the Trailblazer and UnSung She-Roes award to Rev. Beverly Claiborne standing with her husband Cary J. Claiborne.
ter of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first post-independence president, expressed her father's vision for global African unity.
Maria Jones, Ayanna Gregory and Bokar Ture, children of the late Amiri Baraka, Dick Gregory and Kwame Ture respectively, also provided pre-recorded comments about the late Ebguna’s impact on African liberation movements of the Black Power era.
Historians often associate the term “Black Power” with Dada and most especially Ture, who, as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, popularized the slogan that ramped up an international movement against institutionalized racism.
Both Ture and Egbuna, Sr. established a relationship with Nkrumah, who they regarded as the father of Black Power due to his insistence on manifesting the United States of Africa.
In 2014, Egbuna, Sr. passed away in the District at the age of 75. Friends, family and community members gathered at Howard University’s Rankin Memorial Chapel to honor his life. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture has copies of Egbuna Sr’s papers.
Years prior, Egbuna, Jr., followed in his father's footsteps, using his platform as an educator and playwright to provide historical analyses that connect seemingly isolated figures and events.
Those efforts extended to the re-release of “Destroy This Temple," which not only includes a foreword from Ebguna, Jr. but commemorates the 50th anniversary of Nkrumah's death and the 100th anniversary of Guinean President Ahmed Sekou Toure's birth.
Coates, who recalled selling copies of the original version of “Destroy This Temple,” said the book inspired him to further examine Black liberation movements in other parts of the world.
“Coming out of struggle in this country, there is and was a tendency for many of us to African-American-centric in our thinking,” Coates said.
“Obi Egbuna, Sr.’s book was one of the first pieces that introduced me to Black people out of this country struggling in the same vein like the Black Panthers did in this country,” he continued.
“This narrative is standalone in the sense that he’s talking about Black Power in the United Kingdom and his experience in a Pan-African sense.”
A CALL TO ACTION
In his comments on Dec. 2, Dada extolled Egbuna, Jr.’s work in connecting with oppressed people in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, as well as Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa.
He expressed his hope that readers of “Destroy This Temple” would be inspired to do the same.
“I’m honored that we got a document to let people know that Black power historically started and has continued to be a global movement that’s linked to other liberation movements,” Dada said.
“Black Power makes that link and it’s definitely part of the socialist revolution. Let us continue to march forward for the liberation of Africa.”
Samia Nkrumah channeled the energy of her late father when she gave a charge to audience members..
“Our unity will not only be economic,” Nkrumah said. “We want a unity based on a solid political basis that’s comprehensive. I hope to see the day that Africans from everywhere in the world can contest elections on African soil [and] will have citizenship and be able to vote and be part of our decision making,” she added.
“When that happens, we’ll know that truly Africans everywhere are part of the African continent.”
WI @SamPKCollins HEALING from Page 8
bath healing and other healing modalities while grooving to the livesounds of go-go.
For some young people, like Laila Hammond, the “Week of Healing” came at an ideal time.
Laila, a Ward 8 resident, expressed fear about losing friends to violence. She said the healing modalities featured throughout the week have helped her manage her anxiety in recent years.
“With yoga, I get to clear my thoughts,” said Laila, 16, a local influencer with more than 1,000 followers on her social media platform.
“I use relaxing music and a sound bowl, and close my eyes [because] I’m worried about dying. Adults don’t know how it feels to go outside to the ice cream truck and run back inside because someone is shooting or someone is about to die. I just stay in the house [where] I know I’m safe.”
Candy Glover, a professional yoga instructor and founder of The Rainbow Wellness, said she can attest to the healing power of yoga. She said that she grew to understand the necessity of movement throughout high school and college, and especially as a flight attendant who attended yoga classes around the world.
Glover said gaining certification as a yoga instructor in recent years not only allowed her to pursue entrepreneurship, but better appreciate yoga’s benefits for people who experience the long lasting physical effects of trauma and grief.
Throughout the “Week of Healing,” Glover worked to convey that message and help people see the feasibility of taking care of oneself first, even if it’s breathing deeply for five minutes at the beginning of the day.
She explained her goal as one centered on eradicating the vestiges of stress and grief that continue to live on in people’s backs, shoulders and other parts of their body after traumatic experiences.
“We did this all across the city and we have things we’re doing online,”Glover said.
“We didn’t want there to be any excuse as to why people didn’t participate and why it didn’t appeal to them,” she added. “We took some things we saw work and made it work for us. We saw how beautiful it was when things pop up in the different wards.” WI @SamPKCollins
3 Paul Coates (Courtesy photo)
