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 |