Damn it’s been a minute huh? Yeah, unfortunately, I had to put a few things on hold for a little minute… Well I shouldn’t say that because I’ve been giving a lot of attention to building up TGA’s IG account. So umm, yea, let me do a plug real swift…

Anyway… I got some exciting news to share with y’all…. TGA got a new logo! Well shit, I should say TGA got its first OFFICIAL logo!

What it Look Like…

The symbol you see in the middle is called, Sankofa.

Historical Background: The Sankofa is one of many Adinkra Symbol of West Africa. Sankofa (pronounced SAHN-koh-fah) is a word in the Twi language of Ghana that translates to “Go back and get it” (san – to return; ko – to go; fa – to fetch, to seek and take), and also refers to the Bono Adinkra symbol represented either with a stylized heart shape or by a bird with its head turned backward while its feet face forward carrying a precious egg in its mouth.

Symbolic Meaning: Sankofa is often associated with the proverb, “Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi,” which translates as: “It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.” In other words, Sankofa basically represents the importance of one reaching back to knowledge gained in the past so that they can then bring that knowledge into the present in order to make positive progress.

Know Thyself

From a very early age I was always fascinated with the history of the world. I thought Alexander the Great was just that, Great. I thought the Greek philosophers of the ancient world were some of the smartest men to ever walk the planet. I used to think people like Spartacus and the solders from Sparta were the true definitions of bad ass warriors… However, when it came to Black history all I could point to was our time in bondage… For example, when people would ask me to name some of my Black heroes I would start name dropping folks like, Harriet Tubman, Fredrick Douglas, Malcolm X, Kwame Ture, Angela Davis, you get the picture.. These people are still my heroes to this day, however back then those were the only heroes I knew. It wasn’t until a few years ago I realized that knowing everyone else’s heroes but not knowing a damn thing about my own wasn’t by chance or by mistake.

Nah, it was actually made by design.

It’s something that I talk about quite often, and that’s the process in which we are indoctrinated in the ideology of White Supremacy here in this country. This indoctrination happens at birth and is constantly re-enforced throughout our lifetime. As a result of this indoctrination, a lot of us now suffer from internalizing a set of myths and stereotypes that were designed solely to oppress us physical and mentally. It’s because of those mental chains we see each other as, “niggas and bitches.” It’s because of those mental chains we’d rather work with the White man than come together and work among ourselves. It’s because of those mental chains we have no problem killing one another with no remorse for human life whatsoever…

It’s time we break free from these chains bruh, and the only key I’ve found that unlocks our consciousness is our true history.

Carter G. Woodson in his infamous book, The Mis-Education of the Negro, once said, “That every man has two educators: ‘that which is given to him, and the other that which he gives himself. Of the two kinds the latter is by far the more desirable. Indeed all that is most worthy in man he must work out and conquer for himself. It is that which constitutes our real and best nourishment. What we are merely taught seldom nourishes the mind like that which we teach ourselves.”

It was through my re-education and commitment to learning the truth about my people I was finally able to truly free my mind from the shackles of internalized racism. That’s why the Sankofa is the symbol of TGA.

My main goal as a ghetto educator is to free the minds of my fellow brothers and sisters by introducing them to themselves, introducing them to their true selves… Introducing them to their true ancestors, and not the ones handpicked by our oppressors… Introducing them to their true history. and not just the 400 years of oppression and lies this country normally forces down our throats… Only then can we begin to respect one another, only then can we have true solidarity. Only then can we reawaken the consciousness that once had us in the driver seat.

Aṣẹ