Stop the Bulling RapBy Sarah Maldonado

Concerned Parent and Grandparent

Bulling is not koolBulling is for fools

it breaks all the rules,Bulling on the internet

is an upset, without a lot of pretexts,and can bring about regrets, having

no intellect, to avoid upsets,give a helping hand with an affirmative

action plan to stop bulling. Cyber-bulling isdefinitely a No No! Need to be a no show!

Be motivational not disgraceful or distasteful.Take a stand; give a helping hand with a positive

corrective plan to stop bulling. Now, not tomorrow but today.

African Spirit Award to:

CHINWE IFEOMA

Poem of Legacy by Jordan E. Franklin

This poem cannotCapture the past.It cannot express

The anticipation of deathAnd the numbers he claimed

Through his blue eyed messengersAt the helms of wooden devils.

In this time of writingI am mourning,

Cracking under the weightOf their bones-

Each derived from a life deniedFor cattle.

So I’m writingTrying to make this piece

Not sound like a funeral serviceBut as a celebration-

A celebration of memoryFor people.

With these words,I will rip through the Atlantic

And descendSinking like a stone until

I hit the ocean floor.As I speak

I’m remembering my unknown familyStolen from me by time and tragedy-

I’m taking themInto my arms to

Rouse their spiritsFrom slumber-

Those who chose to sever their legacyAt the feet of these waters-Those brothers and sisters

Who would not letTheir hopes die

Inside wooden hullsAnd those sons and daughters

Who were cast outTo meet the judgment

Of gods and goddesses unknown.Today I writeTo tell them

Their legacy is in us-Not in the bloodOr in the eyes,

But in our hearts.With each beat

We sing their stories-A unison of notes

In the windAnd the family I never knewWho bathes in eternal ocean

May you slumber deep.

24th ANNUAL TRIBUTE TO OUR ANCESTORS OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGE PROGRAM

Libation/Black National Anthem

A N C E S T O R A L D R U M M I N G

SPECIAL TRIBUTES TO: Mr. Boyke, Mama Daisy, Richie Havens, JituREMEMBERING: Dr. Mary Umolu, Founding Member of the Collective

HOSTED BY:OSAGYEFO, MICHAEL HOOPER, HABTE SELASSIE

INVITED SPEAKER:Dr. William L. Pollard, President, Medgar Evers College

PERFORMANCES BY:Shanto, Osagyefo, DuPree, Jordan Franklin, Kowteff, Abdul Perez, Supported by PRIDE-Coney Island, Sunu Thois-

sane & Orin Ayo Dance & Drum Ensemble, Medgar Evers College Preparatory School “The Spirit of Joy Chorale” & Dancers, Poetry Flow’n, Junior Kennedy, Andreaus & Funky Nassau, Asase Yaa, Ngoma

SPECIAL THANKS TO: Dawn Walker, Donna Lamb * Jelani Akeem * Lillie Akeem * Jibri Akeem * Dr. Nancy Lester * Mr. Herbie Edwards * * Joylyn Philips * *African Arts Festival * Our Times Press * WBAI Radio 99.5 FM * SHANTO * Nana Bill Jones * Mr.

Richard Joseph * Caribbean Life * Visual Balance Graphics * Henry Hawkins * And to everyone who helped to make this program possible.

TRIBUTE FUNDRAISER-AFRICAN SPIRIT AWARD PRESENTATIONSaturday, FEBRUARY 22, 2014

25th ANNUAL TRIBUTE TO OUR ANCESTORS OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGESaturday, June 14, 2014

For Information on all Collective Events: AKEEM @ 718-270-4902 / Akeem476@gmail.comAKEEMREELZ on Facebook

PEOPLE OF THE SUN-MIDDLE PASSAGE COLLECTIVEAKEEM PRODUCTIONS

24nd ANNUAL TRIBUTE TO OUR ANCESTORS OF

THE MIDDLE PASSAGE

IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE ANCESTORS WE HAVE LOST

Dr. Mary Umolu Ervin Allan Francois

Bro Mike Vinella Steven

Bloomie Cheryl Byron

Queen Empress Mzee Moyo

Biko Phillis Jackson

Joe Smooth Dr. Hilton WhiteDr. Quriton

Nadeene LaweLillian Ellis

Oswald HenryCalvin Anderson

Morris DiggsSonny Carson

Hellen B. GloverQueen Mother Moore

Dr. Betty ShabazzGreg Vaughn The Great GBDr. Ivan Van Sertma

Yvonne BennetteWendell Clement

Amelia Wells Alan N. Archer

Margrete G. Parks Madline Lynn

Omar Edwards William Greene

Greg Forsythe Betty Brown

George Washington Luther Brewster

Doris Brewster Olga Brewster

Ellen Brewster Norris Brewster

Herman Brewster Claudine Simpson

Lillie Allen Lucy JonesDolores Smith

Tyra HarrisLaverne Hawkins Ruth McDonaldDerrick Watkins

Bernard Coles Carl Engleton

Chief Isaac Komolafe

PEOPLE OF THE SUN-MIDDLE PASSAGE COLLECTIVE1650 Bedford AvenueBrooklyn, New York 11225718-270-4902 // AKEEM827@yahoo.com

WEB SITE ADDRESS: http://poscollective.tripod.com/Index.html

AGENDA of EVENTS: 2013 - 2014

EVENT* DATE

Black Solidarity Day Program Monday, November 4, 2013

World Aids Day Monday, December 2, 2013

KWANZAA Celebration Saturday, December 21, 2013

Feeding the Needy Saturday, December 21, 2013

Cultural Extravaganza Saturday, February 1, 2014Sons & Daughters of Jamaica

FUNDRAISER: Tribute to Our Ancestors Saturday, February 22, 2014African Spirit Award / Fashion Show 2014

HEALTH EXPO 2014 TBA

Money Matters TBA

MIDDLE PASSAGE CONFERENCE TBA

MALCOLM X’S 87th BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE Saturday, May 17, 2014

Youth Conference TBA

Tribute to Our Ancestors of the Middle Passage Saturday, June 14, 2014

*ALL EVENTS INCLUDE THE COMMUNITY AND ALL EVENTS, EXCEPT THE BENEFIT CONCERT, ARE FREE!

LAMA Lillie Akeem Modeling Agency

“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 havenothing 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

Cultural presentations occurring all day by: Osagyefo, Lisa Muhammad, Shanto, Something Positive, Jah Jah the Mighty Tranquil, Pharm Boyzz, K55, Professor James Small, Positive for Children, Dr. Mary Umolu, Ngoma, Heru Ptah, The Children’s Legacy & Performing Arts, Tehut Nine, Crown Heights Youth Collective, Kowteff, Ababa and E.P.M.D. Squad, Abdul Perez, lmani Singers, Dancers & Drummers’ Ensemble, Dr. Zala H. Taylor,Supported By PRIDE-Coney Island, and others.

SPECIAL TRIBUTES TO all our newly departed ancestors

Now that we hold this Tribute, we can celebrate and claim ourancestors!!!!

CONEY ISLAND BOARDWALK @ 16TH STREET (Ancestors’ Circle), BROOKLYN

MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE, City University of New York

THE PEOPLE OF THE SUN MIDDLE PASSAGE COLLECTIVE

25th ANNUALTRIBUTE TO OUR ANCESTORS OF THE

MIDDLE PASSAGESATURDAY - JUNE 14, 2014

12 NOON TO SUNSET

LISTEN TO WBAI, 99.5 F.M.For information: AKEEM @ 718-270-4902Transportation: Q & F Trains to Last Available Stop

http://poscollective.tripod.com/Index.html

I know that we must reclaim those bones in the Atlantic Ocean. Do you know that there

is not a plaque, a day, a ritual, or an hour that is erected in memorial to those one hun-

dred 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 ances-

tors. We don’t have a marker, an

expression or 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 an-

cestral presence !n those waters.

THE INSPIRATION...

Toni Cade Bambara, Author 1987

THE INSPIRATION...“The Honorable John T’molu, my late husband, taught me many, many years ago that Black people must honor and pay tribute to our Ancestors. He helped me to see that, just as other people in the world call upon their ancestors (Saint this and/or Saint that... ), Black people must also know our history and call upon our ancestors. That is why I decided that, during the Inter-national Black Storyteller’s Conference held at Med-gar Evers College/CONY in 1989, we must have a significant salute to our Ancestors. That is why I de-cided that we must take a pilgrimage to the water and pay tribute.”

Dr. Mary Umolu, Professor, MEC, 1996

“I was inspired by Toni Cade Bambara’s Quote. Her words, along with my knowledge of history, made me commit myself to organizing an annual trib-ute to Our Ancestors of the Middle Passage. I know that this is the right thing to do. It’s not about my name being called as the person who is princi-pally responsible for the work to organize the Tribute. It is about millions of Black people buried in that ocean. It is about making sure that our children’s children don’t forget.”

AKEEM, Producer, 1996

PURPOSE

The year 2003 will mark the 14’ Annual Tribute

to Our Ancestors of the Middle Passage The

organizers of the Tribute are committed to hold-

ing the event annually to raise

people’s consciousness about

modern slavery, and to raise

the required funds to have a

permanent monument erected

that commemorates the Afri-

cans who died during one of

the most horrendous periods

of human history, the Atlantic

Slave Trade.

A new form of slavery is being instituted and the

Collective believes that this new slavery can only

be stopped by our collective will and determi-

nation to stop it. The Collec-

tive believes that there are a

lot of things that need to be

fixed in this world of pain,

suffering, and human exploi-

tation some things can of

course, wait. However there

are many things that we just

can’t afford to put off until

another day or time The new

millennium is here, and the

human condition demands

that we right some of the

wrongs of history. At the very

least, we are called upon to

tell some of the stories of his-

tory, learn from our past and

commit ourselves to doing the

work that will prevent some of

the atrocities of the past from

ever happening again We owe

it to our children and our fu-

ture generations of children to

set some things straight which

have been crooked for too

long. It is time for us to collect

upon a tremendous debt that is

owed to Black people, and to

sing our songs for a new day.

The Collective believes that it

wont be easy, this straighten-

ing out of the crooked, this unearthing of the

truth that is buried in the quagmire of lies that

continue to be told. Movement to bring forth

justice is never easy, especially in the midst of

PHILOSOPHY

All of the organizers, speakers

and performers at the annual

Tribute organize and perform

free of charge. They have seen

the event as a place to offer

their talents and gifts in honor

of those who came before us

and made the ultimate sacri-

fice so that we might live better

lives today. The Collective op-

erates with a sense of urgency

that grows out of a sincere be-

lief in the old adage that those

who do not know their history

are doomed to repeat it We see

ominous signs in society today,

including a government com-

mitted to spending more money

on prisons and war machinery than it spends

on education, that history is attempting to re-

peat itself.

our excruciating pain and justifiable anger, razor

sharp with history, herstory, ourstory, and their-

story in Red, Black. Yellow. Brown, and White,

the human rainbow. While it will not be easy, it is

absolutely necessary We must move. We must

remember. A debt is owed that needs paying.

It wont go away It needs fixing Now!

The Collective believes that we must remem-

ber and talk slave

ships, those water

chariots of death.

Millions upon mil-

lions of Black bod-

ies chained, left to

die, just as long

as a few (those who

simply refused to

diet) could live and

earn money for the

masters of the en-

slaved. Millions

upon millions of peo-

ple - mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters. children,

aunties, spiritual leaders, scientists, crafts those

ships. persons, cousins, uncles, teachers, farm-

ers. students healers, musicians, market women,

historians. dark people, earth people, sun people

- all read to live life, snatched away. beaten, and

chains so that death would claim them on those

slave ships that were steered by the devil him-

self The Collective believes that we must revere

and talk about the Atlantic Ocean that roars be-

neath the endless blue sky on days when calm

is hiding. We bear witness to the Water that has

created additional moisture to cry its own tears

again and again and again Tears that turn from

blue green to mud brown over dead and poi-

soned fish that float by our human castles that

have claimed the earth and house horrendous

deeds and thoughts. The Ocean. Water with a

floor of cleaned bones. Bones of Baba, Mama,

Cousin Him. Cousin Her, and Neighbor Friend.

Bones of those who couldn’t take the darkness,

the filth, and the tack of food and clean drinking

water Bones that couldn’t take the systematic

beatings and rape. Bones that caved in when

eyes witnessed children and loved ones being

tossed overboard, providing more food for the

sharks. Bones that

couldn’t stand be-

ing paced like sar-

dines with heavy

chains around

necks, hands,

and feet. Bones

that couldn’t take

lying in urine and

feces and vomit

while continuous-

ly rocking in the

bowels of Bones

that decided to

take a chance and fight back. Bones that tried

to fly home. Grown-up bones and baby bones.

Bones that tried to stay alive Tired hard to hold

on, one hour at a time. But lost. Flesh given to

ocean scavengers. Bones lying in the Ocean, the

largest single graveyard in the world. We believe

that there is a physical and spiritual presence in

the Ocean that we must acknowledge and stop

throwing garbage upon. We must remember

that, like the Earth, the Ocean is sacred, and it

demands our recognition and respect. We be-

lieve that it is a place for both our fun and our se-

riousness, a place for our children’s laughter And

our grown-up Tears, some of Which are caused

By Memory, that life force that Keeps our Ances-

tral Stories alive. And while we Do all the various

In the year 1989, several people belonging to the

Medgar Evers College/CUNY family in Brooklyn,

New York decided to begin what has now be-

come an annual tradition with what will be the

14’” Annual Tribute to Our Ancestors of the Mid-

dle Passage. 1989 was

the year of the out-

standing Internation-

al Black Storytellers

Conference that was

conceived and or-

ganized by Dr. Mary

Umolu, Professor,

and hosted at Med-

gar Evers College/

CUNY. Hundreds

of participants and

storytellers From all

over the Black world

enjoyed several days

of workshops, cultural presentations, storytelling

sessions, panel discussions, and lectures. One of

the highlights of the Conference was the trip to

the Atlantic Ocean at Coney Island to pay tribute

to the ancestors. When developing the proposal

for the Conference. Dr. Umolu included a salute

to the ancestors as a vital part of the Confer-

ence program. She would later have a meeting

with a colleague. Dr. Andrea Nicola McLaughlin,

Professor at Medgar Evers Collegial CUNY and

learn of an interview that I had with author Toni

Cade Bambara in which Ms. Bambara made the

statement used in the opening of this paper. As

a result of her meeting with Dr. McLaughlin, Dr.

Umolu decided that 1989 would be the year for a

signal tribute to our ancestors of the Middle Pas-

sage. She developed the idea of taking a pilgrim-

HISTORYThings that Must be Done in our Daily lives As we

Struggle for survival, quality, justice And peace,

we must continue to find the time and the space

to create an ongoing memorial for those people

who are buried in the ocean It is then and only

then that their Spirits will be able to rest in peace

and offer us blessings as we continue our trek on

Earth.

We believe that we

must listen to the

wind over the ocean

and hear the voices

from the past call-

ing out to us. If we

dare, we might hear

the ancestors telling

us what needs to

be done. We must

listen to the quiet

voices within our

Black selves while

we are at the Ocean, and hear out Kushite hearts

beat with the call of the drum, the drum call for

justice, freedom, and peace. We must make cer-

tain that the world never forgets those wicked

slave ships and slavers and the human flesh and

hearts that were destroyed by greed and beliefs

in racial superiority. We must remember that to-

day the great, great grandchildren of the wicked

slavers often wear designer suits and ties. They

carry new types of whips and build new types of

holding cells while they poison the water and the

air and attempt to destroy our memories through

continuous and deliberate mis-education. We be-

lieve that we can win the war against ignorance

and misinformation when we collectively stand

up to win.

age to the Ocean as one of the most significant

activities of the Black Storyteller’s Conference,

and asked the late Dr. Phyllis Jackson and me to

coordinate it. After the decision was made to go

to the Ocean for the first tribute. I held a planning

discussion with Dr. McLaughlin and Dr. Acklyn

Lynch, Professor of Black

Studies at the University

of Maryland, Baltimore.

We planned a program

that would include several

cultural presentations,

prayers and the placing

of flowers in the water. As

the coordinators for the

event, Dr. Jackson and I

worked out all the details,

including getting the re-

quired permits to use the

Coney Island boardwalk

and beach for the cer-

emony and advertising I

through a variety of ven-

ues. The first Tribute’ was

held on November 18,

1989 - a cold, cold winter

day that helped us to remember the conditions

under which many of the enslaved African men

and women came in America. We were freez-

ing and yet we had on our wool and down coats

our boots, our hats, our gloves and our scarves

One could only imagine the plight of our ances-

tors who were forced to these shores while wear-

ing only bits of tattered cloth to cover their bod-

ies from freezing foreign weather. The mistress

of ceremonies for that day continued to remind

those gathered at the Ocean of their ancestors

condition, since we often only think of the horrors

of the slave ships and plantations while forgetting

the strange sometimes freezing weather condi-

tions under which African people traveled arrived,

or died. African drums beat on the boardwalk

of Bay 13 in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York

and cultural artists of every type gave cultural of-

ferings in tribute to those African bodies buried

in the Atlantic Ocean. An altar was built on the

boardwalk, and flowers and

fruit were released into the

Ocean after a procession was

led by drummers who walked

from the boardwalk down to

the Ocean. The cultural con-

tributors included riots from

West Africa. Papa Susso and

Abdou Rahman Mongaara

Wassin Roots Reggae Band-,

Sister Fabian Miranda. Roots

Daughter Maxine Foster, Se-

rious Bizness, the Medgar

Evers College Dancers (un-

der the leadership of Profes-

sor Iola Thompson) and many

Others- Ministers of various

religions and spiritual per-

suasions offered ecumenical

prayers- (Many of these art-

ists and spiritual leaders have continued to of-

fer their gifts of the word, song, dance or mu-

sic at each of the Tributes that have come after

1989.) Following the first Tribute. The People of

the Sun Middle Passage Collective was created

with the primary purpose of organizing an annual

June tribute, one that would always have cultural

performances, African drumming, prayers and

flowers placed in the Ocean as a part of a wa-

ter ceremony It was collectively decided that the

Tribute should be moved from the winter to the

summer so that we would be able to

maximize participation in it. It was also felt that

Following the first Tribute, Akeem, one of those

wonderful much needed, grounded community

people who sees something that needs to be done

and does it became the

official leader, coordina-

tor of The People of the

Sun-Middle Passage

Collective and overall

Tribute worker keeper

of the flame Akeem is

the main worker for the

Tribute, and Mr. Regi-

nald Barnes. Mr Habte

Selassie, Ms. Safiya

Bandele. Mr. Bill Jones,

Ms. Yvonne Bennett,

Ms. Eloise Dicks, Dr.

Mary Umolu, Shan-

to and I have joined

hands as collective

do-whatever-needs-

to-be done members

The cultural artists that

have consistently given

offerings at the vari-

ous Tributes include-

Shanto. Cheryl Byron

& Something Positive:

Maxine Foster; KowT-

eff, Drums & Poets Society, Wassin Roots Reg-

gae Band, Ngoma: Children’s Legacy, Richard

Green & the Crown Heights Youth Collective: New

Kemit Society: Scnghay Dleli: Deeper Lite. Jelani

Akeem: Jabari Akeem: Positive for Children. Inc.

And numerous Others. The Membership in The

People of the Sun Middle Passage Collective is

open to all who want to work towards the goal

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPit would be good to nave the Tribute during the

month that Juneteenth is celebrated. Juneteenth

is an African-American holiday that’s primarily

celebrated in the South of the United States as

the date - June 79 -that the last group of enslaved

people received the news that the system of slav-

ery had been declared

officially abolished by

the government of he

United States! The Col-

lective also established

the goal of raising funds

to have a permanent

monument erected on

the grounds of Medgar

Evers College/CUNY in

memorial to the millions

of people who perished

during the Middle Pas-

sage. We also vowed to

hold our Tribute on the

boardwalk and beach

of Coney Island, Brook-

lyn. New York, and to

encourage others to

hold similar tributes on

the same day in other

parts of the country and

world, especially those

places that have shores

on the Atlantic Ocean.

Both the Office of the

President and the Student Government Associa-

tion of the College have given financial contribu-

tions so that the Tribute would be established as

one of the traditions at the College. These two

bodies have also agreed to assist with raising

funds for the building of the permanent monu-

ment

of an ongoing tribute and the building of a permanent monument.

Today the Tribute has grown to include Thousands of people who

live in the New York City area and people who have traveled from

other states and countries to participate. The Tribute program al-

ways begins with prayers the pouring of libations, and drumming

in memorial to the dead and it always ends with a water ceremony

that includes drumming, singing and the release of flowers into the

water. (This is done in the same manner that one would place flow-

ers on the grave of a loved one.) Children are always a significant

part of the program for they are the ones who must carry the future

torch and the elders are always asked to offer words of wisdom

of the community. The ceremony always includes speakers who

make the connection between what happened during the Middle

Passage and What is Happening to the Black community today.

We know that we must not forget We know that not everything that

needs fixing right now can get fixed right away But we are commit-

ted to trying to fix what we cant There is a debt to be paid. We know

that the human suffering that took place during the enslavement.

Real Deal

Enterprise CEO Jelani Akeem

Fashion Show Models2013