Sankofa is a Ghanaian word meaning “to go back and get.” It refers to reclaiming one’s past in order to move forward. Much of the Sankofa model is built around helping black and Latino boys shake off negative stereotypes and replace them with a respect for their cultural heritage.
Sankofa mentors, known as facilitators, are minority men from varied backgrounds like coaching, music, writing and politics. They range in age from 25 to 50, and many have similar stories to the students they foster. One facilitator has never met his father, another has lost more than 30 friends to gun violence, but they have all become successes despite their adversities, and they all expect their students to surpass what they’ve achieved.
“The injection of a positive, affirmative male in these boys’ lives who can relate but who also can expect things from them, who can push them to places they didn’t want to be pushed before, that is crucial,” Walker said.
Every morning before the start of class, Sankofa students met as a group with their facilitator. They talked about what happened the night before and what might happen that day, and they paid tribute to their ancestors. They then broke for classes before reconvening in the middle of the day and again at the end of the school day.