International Gullah Geechee and African Diaspora Conference (IGGAD) 2024

Panelist for the session: “The Language: History, Related Creoles, and Future Prospects”. Panelists include Linguists, former Executive Director of the Gullah-Geechee Corridor, and Community Storytellers. The International Gullah Geechee and African Diaspora Conference (IGGAD) 2024 conference, hosted by the Charles W. Joyner Institute for Gullah and African Diaspora Studies at Coastal Carolina University.

Association of African American Museums - 2022

Panelist: “Imaginary Margins: Oral Stories Highlight Hidden Intercultural Identities”. The 44th Annual Conference of the Association of African American Museums was hosted in August, 2022 in Miami, Florida. Panelists for this session included other Grassroots Historians, Museum Professionals and African American descendants of Black Seminoles, Native Americans, Gullah, Afro-Latino, and Caribbean ancestry.

Topics covered by Panelists during this sessions included Afro-Indigenous stories, Afro-Caribbean heritage and Sierra Leonean inter-cultural heritage. Panelists provided guidance to the museum industry on how the interconnectedness of genealogies, root-based stories, and community historians can help close the gap between museum learning environments and communities.

Global Launch of South Carolina Education TV Documentary - 2020

SPEAKER: at Fambul Tik’s 1st public live streaming of the Documentary, produced by South Carolina Education TV. The film crew followed the journey of 50 African Americans, mainly from the Gullah community to Sierra Leone. For 2 weeks, we travelled to the northern, southern, eastern, and western regions of the country. The list of travelers included Commissioners of the Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor, Anthropologists, Historians, Cultural Performers and Storytellers. The trip was coordinated by Fambul Tik, a Heritage Tours company.

Discovering Hidden Pens: A Sierra Leonean Poetry Contest - 2020

POETRY CONTEST JUDGE: On Saturday, October 3rd, 10 Sierra Leonean Poets came together in Freetown for the Discovering Hidden Pens Poetry Contest, organized by Matilda Zoker and her team.  Over 140 poems were submitted from young Sierra Leoneans across the country and in the Diaspora, between 11 and 25 years of age.

One of the top ten contestants, Abass Sesay, is a student at Fourah Bay College, studying Social Work.  His poem, entitled, “Sierra Leone: the Epitome of Beauty & Chaos,” included topics such as Global Warming and environmental concerns.  When explaining his poem, he drew links between his education in Social Work and how he sought to interpret Sierra Leone.  He called the country bi-polar, noting the beautiful topography of Sierra Leone, yet the actions of the people aren’t always a reflection of its physical beauty.  Simeon Pangu wrote a critique of Sierra Leone, the theme.  Sharing his inspiration behind his work, he stated that the stories he heard growing up, about the great things about Sierra Leone, did not fit into his current reality.   Unisa Jalloh, based in Russia, delivered an outstanding performance narrating his poem, “Phone Call.”  Using metaphors in the network connection, his message was to the Diaspora, who, in his mind, had neglected the country and were just as accountable for its progress as those at home.

Hellen Kargbo’s poem, “Hopeful Sierra Leone,” presented a country that she loves deeply, filled with a wealth of natural resources and a historical past.  In her response to questions by Judge Rahmatu Mahdi, Writer based in London, Hellen expressed her resilience in staying the course with Sierra Leone all the way through, a passion clearly articulated in her poem.  Alpha Bah, a Law student at Fourah Bay College, shared his hope of a polished future that will replace a neglected past.  

The winner of the contest, Tity N. Cawan, left her home in Bo to attend the event and walked away with a five million leones prize.  Her poem, “Sierra Leone: My Motherland,” all the judges agreed, met each grading criteria.  Consistent with the theme, filled with imagery, similes, metaphors, and a thought-out structure, she also won the applause of the audience during her reading.

Each contestant won a prize, while the top 3 contestants received up to 8 million Leones in cash prizes.  Asked why the rewards were so large, the organizer of the event, Matilda Zoker, stated that her vision is that intellectual exchanges and creative pursuits are valued more in Sierra Leone.  Part of her mission in coordinating this competition is to create a space for young Sierra Leoneans to explore, analyze, and critique society as Writers, Poets, and intellectual agents of dialogue.

American Association for State and Local History - 2020

PANELIST: Annual Conference It was great serving as a Panelist at this year’s conference by American Association for State and Local History. The theme was “What Kind of Ancestor Will You Be?” and topics covered during the week-long conference included indigenous cultures, ancestry, genealogy, and historic preservation, among other things.

Our panel centered on intercultural identities and genealogy/ancestry. Afro-Puerto Rican, Maroon, Afro-Latino, Native American, Gullah, African, Coromantee, and indigenous identities were presented on by the four panelists. It was quite interesting to learn about the Melungeon identity which is a mix of European, African, and Native American identities. Also the Redlegs, Scot-Irish from the Caribbean and West Indians from Panama.

Glad I was able to share some info about being an African Immigrant from Sierra Leone, in America and some of the historic connections between the two. Also shared experiences from the recent trip with members of the Gullah community to SL and my Grandfather, Tommy Decker’s encounter with Dr. Lorenzo Turner.

One of my takeaways was having an opportunity to sit at the table for dialogues such as these, American dialogues, though when concerning heritage and history of African Americans, it’s an African conversation too. As more trends emerge that drive more African Americans to look beyond America and in Africa for rooted ancestry, the idea of what indigenous identity is to the African American makes ethnicities such as Temne, Mende, Yoruba, Krio, Ashanti, etc just as relevant as Native American. The fact is that these cultures still exist and are as present as the cultures formed from them.

It’s clear that the conversation around cultural identity is definitely experiencing a paradigm shift and becoming more inclusive and therefore more rich in the connections we discover with each other.

Grateful to Omar Eaton-Martinez, Heather Andolina and Gabriel Greaves for the opportunity to join the panel.

Prince George’s African American Museum & Cultural Center - 2020

PANELIST: It was great sharing a panel at the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center with awesome creators Camila Bryce-Laporte and Dr. Diane Baird N’Diaye, who through their artwork tell the narratives of Maroon cultures in the African Diaspora.

Great linking the Maroons of Sierra Leone and aspects of Sierra Leonean culture with that of Jamaica and Trinidad.

35th Annual Penn Center Heritage Days Celebration - South Carolina - 2017

PANELIST: John Kizell Symposium.  Fambul Tik Heritage Company along with Penn Center hosted a Symposium in St. Helena Island, South Carolina highlighting the life of John Kizell who was taken from Sierra Leone as a slave in the 1700s at age 13.  He was later freed after fighting for the British during the American Revolutionary War and returned to Sierra Leone along with over a thousand black American families to establish the city of Freetown.  Other Panelists included Sierra Leonean Amadu Massally, CEO of Fambul Tik Heritage Company, Gullah native Ron Daise of the popular Nickolodeon show "Gullah Gullah Island, American Anthropologist and Historian Joseph Opala who is credited to rediscovering the Sierra Leone - Gullah Heritage Connection, and Author, Kevin Lowther of "The African American Odyssey of John Kizell"

Using Social Media To Tell Your Story - Maryland - 2014

PRESENTER: The  African Immigrant & Refugee Foundation (AIRF) hosted the 12th annual Youth Leadership Conference at the Silver Spring Civic Center in Maryland on November 19th 2014. The event featured 40 Students of African and Caribbean descent from Albert Einstein High School, Blair High School, and Springbrook High School; all located in Montgomery County, Maryland.  The event featured city councilors from Montgomery County Executive, social media experts, activists, and poets.  

Symposium, Krio Descendants Union - Georgia - 2013

PANELIST: The annual Krio Descendants Family Reunion was held in Atlanta, Georgia August 30th - Sepember 1st.  The weekend event was hosted by the KDU-Atlanta Branch and the theme was centered on strengthening the Sierra Leonean Krio community.  The symposium focused on the culture and heritage across generations, including the preservation of history and identity.  Sierra Leoneans Krios (Creoles) are descendants of American freed slaves, Jamaican Maroons, other West Inidian groups, and West African re-captives of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.  

Amistad-America Reception - Washington D.C. - 2008

SPEAKER: The reception, hosted by the Howard University African Students Association and other organizations, was held at the University's Blackburn Center on September 27th 2008.  The event featured members of the crew and officers of the historical Amistad ship, after a day of tours inside the ship.  2008 marked the 200th anniversary of the abolishment of the trans-atlantic slave trade in the United States and the event featured speakers from George Washington University, Sierra Leone-Gullah Heritage Association and other cultural organizations.

Red Rice Luncheon - South Carolina - 2006

SPEAKER: The 24th Annual Heritage Days Celebration, hosted by Penn Center, was held from November 9th to 12th 2006 in St. Helena, South Carolina.  The event is the largest celebration of the Gullahs of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.  The Gullah community of the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina is the oldest African American community, with much of its traditional customs still preserved for over 250 years.  The 24th Annual event featured a Red Rice Luncheon at the historical Penn Center to highlight the connection between Sierra Leone and the Gullah community.  Many Scholars have covered this historical connection extensively, with various discoveries of Gullahs descended from Sierra Leone.  The event featured other speakers and distinguished guests including Penn Center President Emory Campbell and the Mayor of Beaufort County.

Seldson High School - London - 2005

In December of 2005, I had the pleasure of conducting Poetry Workshops for 4 classes at Selsdon High School in South London, England. The experience in itself, apart from it being my first workshop, was quite incredible. Working with the Students proved to be far more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined.  

I read two poems from my children's poetry collection, namely, "Wow, Its a Talking Mountain Lion" and "School Bus Driver Tracy"; and engaged in an intriguing dialogue with the Students on what Poetry is all about.

The students, many of whom had never written a poem prior, were excited to delve into their imaginations, expressing themselves, and unlocking their inner potential as young Poets. Some wrote about their favorite Soccer team, while others expressed their feelings about friendship and self-reflection. It was a rewarding experience, especially seeing the joy in the Students faces as they uncovered and explored a new outlet for expression.

Busboys and Poets - Washington D.C. - 2012

Remembering The Black Loyalists: The Founding of Freetown A Black History Month Celebration, was held at the Busboy & Poets in Washington D.C. on February 26th 2012.  The event was hosted by MSLDC and featured speakers including Author Kevin Lowther, George Washington Professor & Historian Dr. Nemata Blyden, musician Freddy Cole, and poets Akindele Decker and Natasha Beckley.  The event commemorated the founding of Freetown, West Africa by African Americans in 1792, making it one of the first westernized black communities in Africa.