Book Highlight: Excerpt from Stories from the Fireplace: Theological Meditations on Haile Gerima’s Cinema

Sankofa – Reclaiming ancient African ancestors evokes the memory of the spiritual and intellectual ancestors moving forward. One of the most acclaimed films, Sankofa by Haile Gerima, begins with a bronze representation of the Sankofa-bird, rolling to signify the root metaphor of memory. The elderly griot representing Sankofa is playing the drum and shouting repeatedly “Sankofa! Sankofa! Sankofa!” While holding his staff bearing the symbol of Sankofa carved into it, the griot begins walking and encounters a young model of African descent. The griot confronts the girl for denying her identity, calling her to return to her roots—to the seedbed of her true self—and reclaim her memory and identity.