2006 Theme – The African Diaspora : The Return
“I Have a Dream Monumentâ€: Mahatma Gandhi
Saturday, January 28, 2006, 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
Dr. Vincent Harding, esteemed writer and historian, discusses the inclusion of the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi in City Park’s “I Have a Dream Monument,†sculptor Ed Dwight’s moving tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Priscilla’s Homecomingâ€Â
Saturday, February 18, 2006, 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
Joseph Opala, noted Gullah scholar, discusses the process by which he traced a 10-year-old slave’s arrival from Sierra Leone to the United States in 1756 to her seventh generation great-granddaughter and their recent trip to Sierra Leone.
“Marcus Garvey: Back to Africaâ€
Saturday, March 11, 2006, 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
Dr. Ronald Stephens, Chair of Department of African/African American Studies at Metropolitan State College, discusses Black Nationalist Marcus Garvey, his place within the context of “The Return,†and the legacies of his worldwide movement.
“Sankofa: The Voice of Africanityâ€
Saturday, March 25, 2006, 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
Dr. Ella Maria Ray, anthropologist and curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, examines the concept of “Sankofa†in the Diaspora, utilizing film clips from Haile Gerima’s feature film of the same title.
“Scattered Africa – Faces and Voices of the African Diasporaâ€
Saturday, April 8, 2006, 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
In this videotape, peoples of African descent living in the United States, the Caribbean, and South America unite in a historic conference hosted by cultural anthropologist Dr. Sheila Walker in order to bring together “Scattered Africa.â€
“Religions of the African Diasporaâ€
Saturday, April 22, 2006, 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
Dr. Rachel Harding, a practitioner of Candomble, and Ta’Shia Asante, a high priestess in the Ifa tradition, are part of a panel that explores African-inspired religions flourishing in the Americas.
“The Gullah Experienceâ€
 Saturday, May 6, 2006, 10:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.
This last session, a fundraiser, allows members of the group that traveled to South Carolina in November to share their experiences of immersion into Gullah culture, a culture described as the closest to Africa one can get in America.
*All sessions are at Park Hill United Methodist Church, 5209 Montview Blvd., Denver, CO 80207