Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Members of Sankofa joke during a photo shoot in the studio at the Times Free Press on Monday, Dec. 2, 2019 in Chattanooga, Tenn. They are (sitting from left-to-right) Comelia Franceschi, Lakweshia Ewing, Karitsa Jones, Carmen Davis, (standing from left-to-right) James McKissic, William Jones and Shane Morrow. Not pictured are members Gabriel Franceschi, Wade Hinton, Shawanna Kendrick, Chantelle Respert, Chad Suttles and Rebecca Suttles.What’s in a name?
Sankofa is a West African phrase that means to go back and get something. It is symbolized by a bird with its feet firmly planted forward and its head turned backward, symbolizing progress informed by an understanding of the past.
The members of Sankofa, a local giving circle, pool their own money and decide collectively how to best direct those dollars to strengthen communities of color. But there’s more than money at work when it comes to the power of this giving group, says Lakweshia Ewing, a member of the fund from its beginnings in 2015.
“We are not a gatekeeper to the black community, but we understand the importance of social capital and networking,” Ewing says. “With the Howard (School) book club, for example, we gave the money, but we also leveraged a relationship we had with Barnes and Noble.”
Connecting educators at Howard with contacts at the bookseller led to a fundraiser where Barnes & Noble donated a portion of sales from one day to the book club. That’s one example of how members of Sankofa make their giving go as far as possible, Ewing says.
“Here’s a connection, here’s a door you can go through from now on,” she says. “Leveraging social capital is paramount to survival. Who you know goes a long way.”