In celebration of Black History Month, Southeast Georgia Health System
will host two performances by the Sankofa Cultural Group, a group composed
of professional artists schooled in African art forms. The performances
are free and open to the community.
The first performance will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 5 p.m. in the
Linda S. Pinson Conference Center on the Brunswick Campus, 2415 Parkwood
Drive. A second performance will take place in St. Marys on Wednesday,
Feb. 26., at 5 p.m. in the Activities Room of the Senior Care Center-St.
Marys, 805 Dilworth St.
The Sankofa Cultural Group incorporate music, dance, poetry, story-telling,
interactive games and more, to convey the similarities between African
and American cultures. They present a high-energy, collaborative performance
that encourages audience participation and gives volunteers hands-on drumming
experience with an array of traditional African instruments. The group’s
name, Sankofa, is an Adinkra symbol of the Akan people of Ghana that admonishes
us to return to our roots in order to be able to map out our future.
Braima Moiwai is one of the artists who will be performing at the celebration.
Born into a family of coffee and rice farmers in Sierra Leone, West Africa,
he studied history and geography at Fourah Bay College, University of
Sierra Leone, and taught for five years before immigrating to the United
States in 1986. He now lives in Durham, North Carolina.
"I love my country of Sierra Leone and I feel we share many common
bonds with the United States," Moiwai says, "I like to transmit
my knowledge of village life in West Africa and explore the many connections
between African and American Culture."
Moiwai is an active member of the North Carolina Association of Black Storytellers
and founder of the Gullah Project in Durham, North Carolina. He serves
as a tour guide for school field trips to the Gullah Sea Islands and has
also presented in numerous other venues throughout the U.S. and internationally.
Other Sankofa Cultural Group members who will be performing are Carolyn
Evans and John and Marci Grady.