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Steelpan Musicians Honor the Ancestors of the Middle Passage at Tribute in Coney Island

     Ancestors’ Tribute in Pictures
 

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Utopia Pan Soul celebrates the Ancestors
with Steelpan Tribute

click to see video

 

Brooklyn, New York - The US President (Barack Obama) was not there.  The New York Governor (David Patterson) was not there.  Nor was the New York City mayor (Michael Bloomberg).  Nor were they missed by the hundreds who were there.

With the backdrop of the world-renowned Coney Island historical landmarks on one side, and the Atlantic Ocean on the other - the 20th Annual Tribute to the Ancestors of the Middle Passage was held on the famous boardwalk from twelve noon to sunset this past second Saturday in June.

The event highlights one of the single most horrific episodes ever in the history of mankind.  It is estimated that some 100 million people from Africa were lost at the bottom of the Atlantic in the brutal kidnapping and inhumane slave journey to the Americas know as “the Middle Passage.”

The event, produced by Medgar Evers College, City University of New York and the People of the Sun Middle Passage Collective - and stoically presented annually under the stewardship of Tony Akeem - attracted people from all over the country to the tribute.  Amazingly, there is not one other acknowledgement recognizing this great American holocaust.

Utopia Pan Soul - The Next Generation celebrated the ancestors through their performance with the musical instrument that more so than any other, represents the true mettle of the African people: their genius, survival, defiance and promise.  The steelpan instrument is a gift to the world by the descendants of the millions of Africans who were lost in the Middle Passage as part of that “coming to America” experience.

Utopia Pan Soul’s  performance unfolded amid a surreal setting as huge tankers carrying miscellaneous cargo could be seen in the distance coming in from the Atlantic Ocean, tracking through an eerily similar route at that point, as used by slave ships not so long ago - carrying as human cargo in their hulls - the very ancestors of all the performers at Saturday’s tribute to the Ancestors.  It is not commonly known that Coney Island was one of the major drop-off points (disembarkment) for many of the African slaves in this hemisphere. 

Given Utopia Pan Soul’s progressive history and consistent community involvement, it was not surprising to see them as the organization representing the steelpan music fraternity at this monumental tribute.  Their appearance was part of a line-up of a host of other artists performing throughout the tribute.  In addition to the normal activities special homage was paid to departed Ancestors including Dr. Mary Omolu (founding member), Bernie Mack, John Hope Franklin, Isaac Hayes, Lillian Ellis and many others. 

About the Tribute

The Tribute first happened in wintry November, 1989 at Coney Island beach, where it is still held annually, as an outgrowth of the Black Storytellers’ Conference, which took place at Medgar Evers College. The Tribute is to recognize those who perished in the Middle Passage, particularly, but includes all Ancestors in general.  It is to recognize them and their sacrifice to affirm the humanity of Africans and defend their dignity.  It is held every second Saturday in June. It is the first of its kind of event and was inspired by Toni Cade Bambara’s words:

“I know that we must reclaim those bones in the Atlantic Ocean.  Do you know that there is not a plaque, a memorial, a day, a ritual, or an hour - that is erected in memorial to those one hundred million bodies in the Atlantic Ocean?  All those African bones in the briny deep. All those people who said ‘no’ and jumped ship. All those people who tried to figure out a way to steer, to navigate amongst the sharks. We don’t call upon that power. We don’t call upon those spirits. We don’t celebrate those ancestors. We don’t have a marker, an expression, a song that we use to acknowledge them. We have nothing to indicate that those are Our People and they mattered! We willingly self-administer knockout drops. More horrendous is the fact that we don’t tap into the ancestral presence in those waters.”

Toni Cade Bambara - Author, 1987

 

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