A Journey Toward Racial Righteousness
Sankofa
A pilgrimage into the history of racial injustice, taken together as one body in Christ.
Sankofa journeys bring Covenanters face-to-face with the sites, stories, and wounds of the Civil Rights Movement — so the Church can move forward toward reconciliation with open eyes.
What Is Sankofa?
A Journey Toward Racial Righteousness
Sankofa, from Ghana’s Akan tribe, means ‘to return, go, seek, and take.’ It reminds us to learn from our past before moving forward together and invites the Church to understand racial righteousness as a critical component of our Christian discipleship. Participants travel in cross-racial pairs to confront the history of racial injustice in the United States and return equipped to lead their congregations toward racial righteousness.
Travel as One Body
Each participant registers with a partner of a different race and the same gender — building trust through a shared, honest experience rather than a solo one.
Confront the History
The journey visits landmark Civil Rights Movement sites — bridges, churches, memorials, and museums central to the struggle for racial justice.
Commit to Action
Participants leave not just informed, but changed — carrying a personal commitment to racial righteousness back to their churches and communities.
Register Now
Upcoming Trips
Space is limited on every Sankofa journey. Review the details below and register early — participants must register with a partner.
The Journey
Prayerfully Look Back To Faithfully Move Forward
Sankofa is a West African word meaning “looking backward to move forward.” The Sankofa Journey helps disciples of Christ respond to the sin of racism by exploring historic Civil Rights Movement sites — places of oppression and inequality for people of color — while moving participants toward healing the wounds and racial divide caused by centuries of racial injustice in the United States. Along the way, it builds awareness, understanding, and sensitivity to past struggles, victories, and the racism that persists today, so we can better address racial righteousness in our church, our nation, and our world.
On this three-day bus journey, participants travel to critical sites of past and present racial injustice — including Birmingham, Alabama; Jackson, Mississippi; and Memphis, Tennessee — visiting places like the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and meeting people directly involved in ministries of justice. Sankofa is not just about information; it’s a journey of spiritual transformation. Through the sites visited, videos watched, and honest reflection together, relationships of trust deepen in an environment of grace.
- Daily group reflection & worship
- Guided visits to historic sites
- Structured cross-racial partner dialogue
- A personal action commitment to bring home
Testimonials
The Message of Sankofa Continues Through Us
Sankofa invites the Church to understand racial righteousness as a critical component of our Christian discipleship. This immersive discipleship pilgrimage equips believers to participate in the kingdom mosaic and pursue biblical justice. Sankofa empowers participants to become ambassadors of reconciliation inside and outside the church.
This was life-changing for me. I have many new heroes now: the men, women, and children who stood up against injustice and marched for freedom in the face of severe persecution. I am angry that this rich history is not taught in our schools. All American children need to know about these magnificent role models.
My life will never be the same. I have made choices, whether conscious or unconscious, which allow racism and injustice to continue. I commit to forever be an agent for change in this area, and I owe that to the confrontation of the truth through the Sankofa Journey.
I came on this journey not expecting anything really. I wasn't excited, I wasn't angry, and I wasn't prepared for what was in store for me. I came looking at this as an opportunity to do something different — and I got that! Would I do it again? Possibly! Would I recommend it to others? Definitely! In fact I would encourage others to take part in Sankofa. I have been informed, enlightened, and empowered.
One thing that became clear to me during Sankofa is that I need to go beyond understanding and head knowledge and begin to allow the realities of racism to impact my heart — embracing sadness, anger, repentance, vulnerability, and even suffering. I'm not sure exactly how that will happen, but seeing what I saw and hearing the stories that I heard on Sankofa was a start for me.
Sankofa Journey bus books and seminars cannot equate the impact of one Sankofa Journey. In the bus' crucible of forced proximity in cramped quarters, layers of political correctness were stripped away. What was revealed in our group was painful but certainly moved me to deeper understanding of racial injustice and my own prejudices. The pain served as a catalyst to action; without it, I may never have addressed my prejudices nor become engaged in racial justice.
Sankofa is a journey that every American — black, white, Asian, Latino, young, or old — should experience. You will find yourself exploring the hidden recesses of your heart and soul that you may not have even known existed. And in the end, you will have gained an invaluable insight into how someone of another race processes the pain and suffering wrought by social injustice and racism. Hopefully from there you will resolve to move forward to make the world you live in a better place for all people.
CONTACT
Support Sankofa
Your gift helps send others on this journey and keeps the work of racial righteousness moving forward in the Covenant. Contact the Love Mercy Do Justice team with any questions.
