ABOUT US

LUTON SANKOFA UK

We are a non-profit, African-Caribbean group in Luton, formed in 2016 to organise the annual commemoration of those who endured the Transatlantic African Enslavement which coincides with the United Nations (UN) date of 25th March, to 'Remember Slavery' and 'Honour our Ancestors'.

Triangle
Sea

Importance

We feel it is important to remember the victims of the Transatlantic African Enslavement.  In so doing we are raising awareness of this important aspect of our history and honouring the memory of heroes and heroines who were enslaved over a period of nearly 500 years.

Desire

It is also our desire to help bridge the gap between African and Caribbean history, thereby encouraging unity amongst both communities.

Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano
Paul Bogle
Paul Bogle
Queen Nanny of the Maroons
Queen Nanny of the Maroons
Sam Sharpe
Sam Sharpe
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth
Qhobna Cugoano
Qhobna Cugoano
Dr John Henrik Clarke
Dr John Henrik Clarke
Amy Garvey
Amy Garvey
Ivan Van Sertima
Ivan Van Sertima
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Mary McCleod Bethune
Mary McCleod Bethune
Marva Collins
Marva Collins
Mary Ann Shadd Cary
Mary Ann Shadd Cary
Suzanne Cesare
Suzanne Cesare

Aim

It is our aim that the local black community comes together to commemorate the billions of victims of this African Holocaust, which also gives rise to the opportunity to re-educate the community of our history that pre and post dates African enslavement, thereby putting it into its correct historical context.

History of the UN Commemoration Date


In 2008 the General Secretary of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon decided  that “The story of the end of the slave trade deserves to be told at the United Nations.  Indeed, the defense of human rights is at the heart of this Organization’s global mission.  Our Charter proclaims equal rights.  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude”.


It goes on to state:

The Transatlantic slave trade persisted for four centuries.

Imagine being torn from your weeping family as a result of ethnic warfare…forced to walk hundreds of miles until you reach the sea on the West African side of the Atlantic Ocean. You are stripped of your name, your identity, of every right a human being deserves. The European ship that you are forced to board, is headed across the Atlantic to Caribbean and South American plantations, a voyage through the awful “middle passage”. A multitude of black people of every description chained together, with scarcely room to turn, travelling for months, seasick, surrounded by the filth of vomit-filled tubs, into which children often fell, some suffocating. The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying renders the whole scene of horror almost inconceivable. Death and disease are all around and only one in six will survive this journey and the brutal, backbreaking labour that follows.


Thus, the date of 25th March was chosen for this annual commemoration.

It started with the demand for slave labour by the Europeans, to work their plantations in the Americas and Caribbean...
Our African Ancestors were forced to walk hundreds of miles as they were brutally captured...
They were held in shackles...
They were cruelly whipped and brutalised...
and they were held in dungeons like Cape Coast and Elmina in Ghana
They were forced onto slave ships, never to return to their homelands ...
They were packed in abhorrent conditions, with no proper sanitation...
They hardly had space to move or breathe and suffered fatal ilnesses...
Millions of our ancestors died on the journey and many were deliberately thrown over board if they became too weak...
Upon arrival in the Caribbean and Americas they were sold as slaves.

Photos from Previous Years' Events...

Councillor Jacqueline Burnett, Chair
Councillor Jacqueline Burnett, Chair
Martin Hanson Pouring Libation
Martin Hanson Pouring Libation
Martin Hanson addressing the audience
Martin Hanson addressing the audience
Children Paricipating in Candle Lighting Ceremony
Children Paricipating in Candle Lighting Ceremony
Juliet Sharpe - Keynote Speaker
Juliet Sharpe - Keynote Speaker
Lorna Markland, Director of Operations
Lorna Markland, Director of Operations
Luton Sankofa UK members with Drummers
Luton Sankofa UK members with Drummers
Distinguished Guests
Distinguished Guests
UpMass Choir
UpMass Choir
Laid Wreaths after the Service
Laid Wreaths after the Service
Laid Wreaths the following day
Laid Wreaths the following day
Stain on our history
Stain on our history
Children in the Community
Children in the Community
Khadijah Ward - Keynote Speaker
Khadijah Ward - Keynote Speaker
Councillor Jacqueline Burnett, Chair
Councillor Jacqueline Burnett, Chair
Cllr Burnett with the children
Cllr Burnett with the children
Children taking part in the ceremony
Children taking part in the ceremony
Diana Marquis Solomon, Vice Chair
Diana Marquis Solomon, Vice Chair
Mr Paul Crooks - Keynote Speaker
Mr Paul Crooks - Keynote Speaker
Osagyefo Drummers
Osagyefo Drummers
Paul Crooks - Keynote Speaker
Paul Crooks - Keynote Speaker
Osagyefo Drummers and Dancer
Osagyefo Drummers and Dancer
SJ Drummers 3
SJ Drummers 3
Osagyefo Drummers
Osagyefo Drummers
Children participating in event
Children participating in event
SDA Cantare Choir
SDA Cantare Choir
Commemoration Table
Commemoration Table
Wreath
Wreath
Paul Obinna with the Lineage Timeline
Paul Obinna with the Lineage Timeline
LSC 2018 Flyer
LSC 2018 Flyer
LSC 2019  Front Flyer 2
LSC 2019 Front Flyer 2
Luton Sankofa UK Flyer 2021
Luton Sankofa UK Flyer 2021

Members of Luton Sankofa UK:

Cllr Jacqui Burnett - Chair

Diana Marquis-Solomon - Vice Chair

Lorna Markland on behalf of ACCDF - Director of Operations

Maureen Samuel - Marketing Director

Debbie Marquis - Chief Researcher

Soraya Bowen - Researcher

Jo Santiago - UGW, Partner

Tré Ventour - Northampton, Partner

Norma Josephs - Member

Jennie Lascaris - Member

Claudette Rhiney - Member

Adunni Haruna - Member


Luton Sankofa UK is managed by ACCDF through a Management Committee.