The silver anniversary sojourn to Coney Island will mark a landmark Tribute to the Ancestors ceremony on June 14 when faithful celebrants gather at 16th St. & Ancestor’s Circle at Coney Island Boardwalk gather to mark the treacherous sea voyage Africans made across the Middle Passage to reach this continent.
It has been 25 years since People of the Sun Middle Passage begun what has become an annual tradition of acknowledging the watery death trail from the African continent to the Americas. With flowers, music, and a ritual that ends with a seaside a tribute to the ancestors that recalls the contribution of cultural icons who have enhanced the state of the community.
This year a long list of ancestors add to the multitudes lost at sea, during slavery and more recently to natural causes.
Among them: poet Maya Angelou, Pan-African activist Elombe Brath, poet Amiri Baraka, former South African President Nelson Mandela, Mississippi Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, Dr. Mary Umola (founding member of the Collective) and on the 51st anniversary of his assassination Medgar Wiley Evers. The ceremony begins at noon and ends at sundown. Although loyal entertainers will again lend their talents to the ceremony, drummers, spoken word artists and performers are invited to join in the historic, landmark event. For more info. Contact 718-659-4999 or akeem476@gmail.com
