"Sankofa" is an Akan symbol meaning “go back and fetch it.” Sankofa was preserved by ancestors throughout the African Diaspora and is still commonly referenced today.
Sankofa encourages us to learn from the past so we can build stronger futures. But what if the future actually dictates the past?
Black Quantum Futurism is a Black centered, nonlinear understanding of time. BQF practitioners believe both past and future shape the present, opening up a space-time continuum of infinite possibilities.
What happens when the past and future come together? Does the concept of Sankofa shift?
Looking at Sankofa through a BQF lens, what if we reframed its meaning from “go back and fetch it” to “go back and change it”?
Could we go back and change history?
Let’s tap into our imaginations and consider that time travel is possible.
What would our present day look like had MLK not been shot? Had our newly freed ancestors actually received 40 acres and a mule? Had slavery never happened?
We have the power to tap into our collective Black genius, imaginations, and historic ancestral tools to radically (re)create more Black liberated futures. Rethinking Sankofa through a BQF lens is just one of infinite examples.
The point is, anti-Blackness tried erasing us. What if we could find a way to erase it? Let’s go back.