**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
May 31st, 2024
Sankofa Impact Announces Partnership with Seattle Black Panther Party Legacy Committee for Site Exploration
**Seattle, WA** – Sankofa Impact is thrilled to announce an exciting new partnership with the Seattle Black Panther Party Legacy Committee. This collaboration will bring members of the Legacy Committee on a foundational site exploration trip which leverages Sankofa Impact’s place-based learning approach in fostering community, confronting the unvarnished truth, and inspiring everyday activism. The trip will travel to sites in Chicago, Memphis, Montgomery, and Charleston over the course of a week in early June to learn and build critical relationships.
The Seattle Black Panther Party Legacy Committee, composed of original members and community activists dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Seattle Black Panther Party, has turned to Sankofa Impact for their expertise, community connections, and unique approach that emphasizes the Akan concept of sankofa, “to go back and get it,” meaning we must know where we have been to know where we are going. This partnership is a testament to Sankofa Impact’s reputation for delivering impactful and transformative experiences.
Informing the Seattle Black Panther Party Interpretive Center
The primary goal of this trip and partnership is for the Seattle Black Panther Party Legacy Committee to see and experience other sites to inform what features, exhibits, architecture, and design considerations should go into the creation of the Seattle Black Panther Party Interpretive Center. Drawing inspiration from innovative and landmark sites like the DuSable Black History Museum in Chicago, Illinois and the Equal Justice Initiative Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Alabama among others, the Seattle Black Panther Party Legacy Committee aims to create a dynamic space where visitors can experience history through multimedia programming, walking tours, and live performances. Felicia Ishino, Sankofa Impact Executive Director, had this to say about the trip:
“We want Seattle to be in conversation with sites across the country that are leading when it comes to history and social change. We believe an interpretive center for the Seattle Chapter of the Black Panther Party will be a powerful resource to both residents and visitors and that most importantly, their legacy will inspire countless numbers of what we call everyday activists. Because it takes all of us.”
About Sankofa Impact
Sankofa Impact is a nonprofit organization based in Seattle, WA, that brings people together for place-based learning that confronts our history of racism, uplifts stories of resistance, and celebrates culture. The organization is guided by the Adinkra symbol Sankofa, which teaches the importance of returning to our roots to understand our future. Sankofa Impact envisions a community that holds a common memory grounded in unvarnished truth leading to our collective liberation.
About the Seattle Black Panther Party Legacy Committee
The Seattle Black Panther Party Legacy Committee preserves and promotes the history and legacy of the Seattle Chapter of the Black Panther Party. As detailed in a recent article by the Seattle Times, the committee comprises former members and supporters who are dedicated to continuing the fight for social justice and equality. The group is led by Elmer Dixon, renowned as the co-founder of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party and recognized for his activism and leadership in civil rights and social justice. Brother Aaron Dixon, an activist, author, and former captain of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party. And Ruby Love, a transformational business leader and founder of Love Resource Development Group, LLC.
For further details on the Seattle Black Panther Party Legacy Committee and their plans for an interpretative center, read more here: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/traces-of-seattles-black-panthers-are-all-around-if-you-know-where-to-look/
For more information about Sankofa Impact and the Pilgrimage of the South, please visit: https://sankofaimpact.org
Media Contact
Felicia Ishino
Executive Director
(206) 688-9820
###
