Our Spirits Carry Our Voices
Creating a poetry exchange between West Oakland and West Africa has been many years in the making. Meeting Sir Black, the leader of the Ghanian poetry group, Ehalakasa while teaching in Cote d”Ivoire, West Africa fostered a friendship that would help me build my vision. In previous years I had worked with the idea of how rap is connected to the griot tradition and how initially hip-hop was a phoenix for the Black community to rise from the ashes, fists first.
The opportunity to facilitate this exchange came when I was the recipient of a Mills College Community Engagement Fellowship. Even with the support of the grant, I still faced some hurdles. Most believed it to be impossible due to technology gaps, cultural barriers; the current U.S. political climate, which “complicated” America’s international status, plus money and time. But they underestimated the power of poetry and our dedication to connect beyond limitations.
We first met virtually, scheduling meet-ups despite large gaps in our various time zones,spitting poetry over unpredictable Wifi connections, and building solid connections with our West African poets that fiercely inspired us to make the journey to Ghana.
The group raised funds, hosting poetry readings at local Oakland establishments, selling the first draft of our poetry, and authentic African items I had acquired during my travels. The funds not only went to offset the cost of traveling to Ghana, there were stipends sent to African poets, mostly students, whose access to technology varied from our own. It wasn’t easy, but we raised some funds, spent time and money, and finally on May 15, 2018 we landed at the Kotoka International Airport.
Our Sankofa journey is not singular, many people of the African diaspora have taken this journey, but what marks our return as unique is how words (poetry) carried us across the Atlantic even before our bodies reached the shore.
In our anthology, readers will be able to hear how Rhensi poetry was the rope that we threw to each other. One end propelled at the Door of Return, the other traveled back to lead us through the threshold. Both held by people who, through linked lines, are forever connected. We share photos, we share stories, we share our spirits in an unprecedented account of how Black creatives walked on water with words sent out across the Atlantic.
