Participants
By Enajite Esegine and Utibe Mbagwu
On an overcast day in Brooklyn, a crowd of New Yorkers is sitting on the Coney Island Boardwalk overlooking the Atlantic waterfront. They are waiting for the 24th Annual Tribute to Our Ancestors of the Middle Passage to start.
The annual ceremony launched by former Medgar Evers College professor Dr. Mary Umolu was held this year on June 8th, 2013.
From noon to sunset, participants, wearing African clothes or an all white attire, danced, sung, played the drums and left flowers at the shoreline, all in remembrance of the millions of Africans who died at sea during their forced passage to the Americas and the Caribbean.
Since 1989, the memorial has been led by a community-based organization, the People of the Sun Middle Passage Collective. The event, presented as part of the Brooklyn Arts Council’s Harborlore Festival, showcases the artistic traditions of Brooklyn’s diverse Diaspora communities.
Photos of the event
