SANKOFA RECONCILITATION PROJECT

Sankofa Circles is a decolonial, trauma-informed restorative justice framework created to cultivate spaces for truth-telling, racial healing, accountability, reconciliation, and collective transformation. Rooted in the African principle of Sankofa; the wisdom of returning to the past to retrieve what is needed to move forward, the framework expands traditional restorative practice by centering ancestry, identity, embodied healing, racial affinity work, and culturally grounded practices such as storytelling, poetry, movement, breathwork, music, and reflection. Participants move through experiences that invite them to explore what they carry, examine the historical and present-day impacts of racialized harm, engage in healing and accountability within racial affinity spaces, and ultimately return to one another for deeper dialogue, reconciliation, and collective visioning.

 

Sankofa Circles has been facilitated and presented nationally and internationally, including at the IIRP World Conference, National Association of Community and Restorative Justice (NACRJ) Conference, the European Forum for Restorative Justice in Poland, the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, and in communities throughout Connecticut. Designed as an adaptable framework rather than a one-size-fits-all program, Sankofa Circles can be shaped around the unique histories, identities, cultures, and needs of the communities engaging in the work. Offerings range from a two-hour introductory workshop and one- to two-day immersive retreats to a five-day in-person course and a six-month virtual learning and healing experience. Across every format, Sankofa Circles asks a central question: What becomes possible when we are willing to return to our histories, our bodies, our ancestors, and one another in order to move forward differently?