In 1619, the slave trade began regularly delivering persons captured and stolen in Africa to commercial ports in what were then known as the British Thirteen Colonies long the north Atlantic Ocean. These African newcomers were then publicly displayed, inspected and then sold into slavery at live auctions often just days after their arrival.
Basically, the Africans were kidnapped, crowded into ships, severely imprisoned, transported over the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to the New World and then enslaved. The majority of them had no idea what was happening to them nor why. These victims were from a variety of diverse tribes and communication was limited due to language barriers.
Accompanying the kidnapped victims were aspects and elements of their culture and customs from the African homeland. These were retained and secretly incorporated into their new lives in the “New World.”
Survival:
Among the newly enslaved were persons of the Adinkra/Akan tribe in west Africa, their primary regions are now the countries of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The Adinkra brought with them no written language of their own but a vast system of symbols and graphics to convey knowledge, thoughts and related practices.
The sankofah symbol taught the lesson that it is acceptable and understandable to look to the past for solutions to problems in the present. That history is a valuable resource in our lives whenever needed.
The sankofah emblem consists of a fowl with the head inverted, looking into the past. This particular Adinkra proverb shares the belief that the old can and do need to teach the young.
Many of the Adinkra traditional symbols and their proverbial messages are used even today in the designs of the kente cloth. These patterns are popular and appreciated globally for the intricate detail.
In the USA, often the stories of the national fabric are frequently interwoven with knowledge and lessons learned from an obscure past. As with the Adinkra sankofah, the reality has actually been with us as heritage for a very long time!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry planned for here will post on Friday, February 6, 2026, and the proposed topic is: “NBHAAD!”
ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers! 
I have never been able to understand the act of slavery or reconcile it with any ounce of humanity. The idea of kidnapping another human being (let alone millions of them) in their homeland (or anywhere), and forcefully relocating them to someplace foreign for a lifetime of suffering and hard physical labor is one of the most horrific, unforgivable things anyone has ever done. The US has a long road of atonement and reparation ahead of it to even begin to scratch the surface of the penance they owe to entire races and generations of people and their families.
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