2025 Sankofa Living Memories Recap
This February, Sweet Water Foundation hosted its fifth annual Sankofa Living Memories Series. The Sankofa Living Memories Series embraces the practice of Sankofa, reaching back to the knowledge and wisdom of the past and bringing it into the present to build a more radical and imaginative future. The series featured three sessions that focused on [Re]Membering, [Re]Generation, and [Re]Mediation. Read more about this year’s three-part Sankofa series.
[Re]Membering | Friday, February 14
On Friday, February 14, SWF launched the 2025 Sankofa Living Memories series with ‘[Re]Membering.’ Attendees embarked on a temporal journey guided by SWF’s Executive Director, Emmanuel Pratt, tracing the organization’s trajectory from the 2024 Wellness Wednesdays and Community Build Workshops to the inaugural exhibit in Civic Arts Church, Constellations & Throughlines.
The [Re]Membering Presentation then highlighted the launch of SWF’s Neighborhood Academy programming, which began in January 2025. Over the past year, neighbors have plugged into weekly programming with the SWF team, forming a deep connection with each other and the Earth. This winter, the Neighborhood Academy expanded this engagement by delving into topics ranging from Winter Hoop House Care to Regenerative Mathematics, Propagation, and Policy in Action. Lessons blend theoretical knowledge with practical hands-on activities that contribute to the cultivation of life across The Common|Wealth.
The session also celebrated historical figures in African American history: well-known individuals like Harriet Tubman - abolitionist, suffragist & Underground Railroad Conductor - and Mae Jemmison - scientist, engineer, doctor, astronaut & educator - alongside lesser-known ancestors like Benjamin Banneker - scientist, farmer, mathematician, astronomer, inventor, and surveyor - and Gladys West - farmer, mathematician, computer programmer, scientist, and inventor. Each of these figures made profound contributions to astronomy and science. The presentation also featured a lesser-known quote from Harriet Tubman,
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
This quote embodies the spirit of the Constellations & Throughlines exhibit and will be integrated into the 2025 Sankofa Living Memories Civic Arts Project.
The [Re]Membering session ended with a rich conversation between participants from across the globe. Participants emphasized the sense of belonging, learning, and growth they found within the SWF community and discussed themes of reconnecting with their heritage, finding support, and mentorship. The conversation also highlighted the community’s diverse composition, spanning different ages, backgrounds, and locations.
[Re]Generation | Friday, February 21
On Friday, February 21, SWF hosted the second Sankofa event, ‘[Re]Generation.’ The presentation began with a recap of the previous week’s session, reflecting on the energy and inspiration generated. The session then explored ‘[Re]Generation’, defined as ‘the process by which an organism replaces or restores damaged or missing cells, tissues, organs, or even body parts to their full function.’
Regenerative mathematics is a systems-based approach to analyzing and understanding living ecosystems, using mathematical tools and thinking to explore the interconnectedness, complexity, and dynamic nature of these systems. It emphasizes the relationships between all components of an ecosystem, acknowledges the complexity and unpredictability of natural systems, accounts for constant change and adaptation, incorporates feedback loops, and connects mathematical insights to real-world applications like ecological restoration and sustainable agriculture.
Regenerative mathematics illustrates the profound regenerative nature of life itself. A seemingly simple act, like seeding a single 10-inch by 20-inch growing tray, exemplifies this: it can yield enough plants to fill up to three garden 4-foot by 12-foot garden beds, while simultaneously providing lessons in biology, botany, mathematics, and more. It fosters a connection to nature, the climate, and our ecology, and, through collective action and food preparation, strengthens our bonds with one another. This act becomes a catalyst for intergenerational learning, weaving together knowledge and experience across age groups.
The possibility of regeneration was brought to life in the second half of the presentation, when an intergenerational group from SWF’s Neighborhood Academy collaborated to prepare a meal, Comforting Savory Black Beans, featuring black beans, garlic, and peppers saved from the previous summer and greens and onions harvested that morning from SWF’s hoop houses. The meal was prepared across multiple spaces at The Common|Wealth - with Neighborhood Academy participants Alesia, Charles, and his son Charles in Think-Do House Kitchen and SWF Core Team members Jia and Naima in [Re]Construction House. They discussed cooking basics - from basic spices like garlic powder, salt, and herbs to essential kitchen utensils. For Charles and his son, this experience marked their first time cooking a meal from scratch together. After the discussion, the meal was enjoyed by the SWF team and onsite Neighborhood Academy participants.
[Re]Mediation | Friday, February 28
On Friday, February 28, SWF concluded the 2025 Sankofa Living Memories series with a powerful session on “[Re]Mediation.”
Remediation, typically defined as, “the process of improving or correcting a situation,” often refers to environmental restoration or the educational practice of reteaching content to address perceived learning deficiencies. However, for SWF, [re]mediation signifies a more profound transformation: rectifying the narratives that shape our understanding of the world. [Re]mediation focuses on rectifying how our stories are told to remedy the damage of biased media by recalibrating our perspective through a Sankofa lens, drawing on historical wisdom to contextualize our present and shape our future.
The presentation illuminated how society problematizes the wrong problems; misdiagnosing social issues, such as vacancy, in the absence of historical context and decades of intentional, systemic, and destructive policies. This misframing leads to flawed “solutions”, perpetuating a cycle of degenerative policies that deny generation after generation of progress. As Emmanuel poignantly stated, “When you problematize the wrong problem, you get more problems.”
The conversation didn’t linger on problems, but swiftly shifted focus to how Sweet Water Foundation works [re]mediate the degenerative policy patterns via Wellness Wednesdays, Neighborhood Markets, and Civic Arts as Policy in Action. These seemingly small practices foster a new paradigm that embraces We the Publics… and creates new forms of public trust.
Emmanuel emphasized the quantum nature of SWF’s work, highlighting the significance of small acts in understanding more immense complexities. Just as a seed contains the blueprint for a specific plant, these actions—ecological entanglement, storytelling, and shared narratives—weave us together, generating and regenerating shared energy to transform our state of being and physical spaces into a healthier state.
Mama Victoria Pratt expanded on this, describing Emmanuel's presentation as a journey 'in and around creation,' emphasizing participation in the greater good. She underscored the human capacity to be 'a healing agent,' to 're-see' divisions, and to work towards unity—a core aspect of remediation. She explored SWF's work as 'mythmaking,' demonstrating the potential for transformation after decades of dedicated effort. By 're-seeing' ourselves and contributing to the ongoing narrative of community restoration, SWF is crafting a new mythology, a story of renewal born from devastation.
“Despite all the separation and division we have before us and the crises we are dealing with in our world, we have the ability to think and perceive... receive ourselves back into a condition and movement toward being whole and becoming whole... creating lasting stories that will create and regenerate a sense of greater wholeness within a growing community.”
This sentiment encapsulated the essence of [Re]Mediation, a call to action for collective healing and transformative storytelling.
