New Sankofa Society catching Grove’s attention

Members of Sankafu, a young non-profit social service organization in West Grove, participate in Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event sponsored by the American Cancer Society Saturday morning, Oct. 2. Photo by Lindsay Brown

The tropical sunrise painted Miami’s skyline red-orange, with light that reflected across Biscayne Bay. The beat of Motown pulsed from speakers near a main stage. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and orange juice served as a welcome wake-up call for thousands of men and women who rose early.

The air buzzed with energy from those poised at Bayfront Park to walk to raise money to help breast cancer patients and survivors. Among the large crowd was a team from a new community initiative in the West Grove known as the Sankofa Society.

Incorporated last May 13, Sankofa is the brainchild of six long-time friends, all men from the West Grove, who decided a group was needed to promote unity in the small community. Translated, the name Sankofa, from the Akan language of Ghana in West Africa, means, “It is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot,” according to society members.

“We try to reclaim positive ideals through community service, by acting as mentors, leading by example and sponsoring social events,” said Carl Springer Jr., Sankofa’s assistant treasurer.

Sankofa has sponsored a tent city in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Members conducted a school supply drive. Most recently they raised $500 in contributions by walking in this year’s Strides Against Breast Cancer March.

“We not only talk about helping, we show the community,” said Springer, “We try to lead by example so if they (young people) see more of it, then they can do more of it.”

Coconut Grove native Nikenna Smart-Benjamin said Sankofa has been a positive influence in the community.

“We have needed this for a very long time,” she said. “These gentlemen are an outstanding group of young men, and the kids feel comfortable with them.”

Derek Moore, one of the founders of Sankafu, rallies with his team, which consisted of members from the West Grove, before the start of the 2010 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event located in Downtown Miami, FL, Oct. 2. Photo by Lindsay Brown

One Sankofa member is Derrick Moore. Moore works as a school psychologist for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.  He said he knows through both recent and childhood experiences how tough some of the domestic situations in the area can be.

Moore said too many children in the community contend with parents and family members who have terrible drug addictions. In some instances, children are victims of abuse, he said.

Moore added that he believes Sankofa can initiate positive changes in the lives of young men and women in the neighborhood.

“The community is not behind these kids as they should be,” Moore said. “It’s sad that when they leave your presence they often view images that are not beneficial to their upbringing. We are just hoping that Sankofa Society’s presence supercedes the negativity within their homes and environment.”

The Sansofa Society is already popular with Na’Kiaya Grant. The precocious 8-year-old decided to skip cheerleading so that she could march with Sankofa in memory of her great-grandmother who died from cancer.

She laughed when she saw the group’s men wearing pink T-shirts for the breast cancer fund-raiser. “Real men DO wear pink,” she said with delight.

Na’Kiaya said she first heard of Sankofa when she was riding her bike one day and saw one of organization’s community clean-ups. She said she was amazed by the effort. So she wrote a letter to Sankofa thanking members.

“I’m their biggest fan because they do a lot of stuff for our community. I want to help people and become a pediatrician when I grow up,” she said.

It is feedback like Na’Kiaya’s that puts everything into perspective for Springer.

“To see how appreciative the kids are that someone does care, it’s a joy just to see that,” he said.

Springer was one of the six founders of Sankofa. The group now counts 10 members and hopes to recruit more, including women, he said. They receive numerous hits on their website and have more than 800 fans on their Facebook page. They have been featured on The Dawngeon, an internet radio talk show on blogtalkradio.com, and most recently appeared on the Emmy-nominated talk show Focus on South Florida.

“It’s just been growing from a dream to something that is as big as a dream,” Springer said. “The sky is the limit.”

For Springer, Moore and the rest of Sankofa Society, the future of the organization is important. But so is paying homage to cultural roots. And members don’t want to forget how important people are.

“These are my kids. These are my people. I have to love them,” Moore said.