May 2024 Edition

Happy Birthday Sankofa Newsletter!

(5 years old this month)

Thank You for the Support!

Culture & News

*Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum*
*115 East !st Street Biloxi, Mississippi*

Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum

The Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum of Biloxi, Mississippi is home to a collection of Gulf Coast historical heritage. This three level museum has various artifacts, boats, coastal environment exhibits, and art galleries. The lobby gallery of the museum greets you with a glowing lighthouse lens. It sits like a bright diamond ready to illuminate your path through this historical adventure. The first level has large boats with sails that almost kiss the heavens. There are also model boats inside glass cases, history of the U.S. Coast Guard, and Biloxi Cruiser images.

As you continue to tour the second and third levels, there are coastal environment exhibits, a hurricane gallery, marine blacksmith artifacts, and the Heritage Hall of Fame Library. I enjoyed learning about the life of sea turtles. According to the museum fun facts about sea turtles: “Although spending most of their lives in the ocean, adult females return to land to lay their eggs. Scientists believe they return to the same beach on which they were born.”

No museum tour is complete without a visit to the gift shop. You can find watercolor paintings, sea animal windchimes, beautiful ceramic plates, and various book titles. There is even a Santa Claus made creatively of crab shells with angel noodle ornaments at his feet. I had a good experience at this museum and encourage you to seek out museums and other local attractions in your area.

Art/Film/Literature News

Princess Kaiulani

The film Princess Kaiulani (1875-1899) starring Q’oriaka Kilcher is an adaptation on the true life story of a young Hawaiian princess. She rose to defend the Kingdom of Hawaii and her people against foreign interests. Her name means the highest point of heaven. She was born to a Hawaiian princess mother and Scottish European father. The early loss of her mother would haunt her throughout life. She was raised with all the expectations and duties of a royal and her uncle, the king states: “May she grow to be a great leader of this nation someday.”

*“She rose to defend the Kingdom of Hawaii and her people against foreign interests.”*

As socio-political circumstances unfold, Princess Kaiulani is relocated to England. Although she is biracial, her phenotype presents more Polynesian than European. She experiences racism with slurs about her darker skin color and her people labeled as barbarians. You can witness her internal struggle to maintain her Hawaiian heritage while in English society. After a time, she returns to Hawaii, but many things have changed in her homeland.

*“You can witness her internal struggle to maintain her Hawaiian heritage while in English society.”*

I enjoyed several aspects of this film, such as her childhood friendship with Kalehua and the character portrayal of Queen Lydia Lili’uokalani. It’s available to watch for free on YouTube Movies & TV main channel. Be sure to watch the film through the end credits as there is a photo of Princess Kaiulani and biographical information. This is a very good movie to explore some of the history of Hawaii and the leaders who defended her. Happy Asian American, Native Hawaiian, & Pacific Islander Heritage Month!

“PRINCESS KAIULANI – Official US Theatrical Trailer in HD”
Roadside Flix on YouTube

“Princess Kaiulani”
On YouTube Movies & TV (Free Films)

Happy Asian American, Native Hawaiian, & Pacific Islander Heritage Month!

Business/Non-Profit/Inspirational News

Mastering Motherhood

Gulf Coast Woman is a complimentary magazine available in various coastal establishments and online. It features a diverse collection of women making meaningful contributions in the community from business to home. The May 2023 Edition features Dorothy Roberts the owner of Robin’s Nest Gallery Gift Shop and Roberts Place Cafe in Pass Christian, Mississippi. Her two daughters, Jessica and Lauren, accompany her on the cover and they all discuss mastering motherhood.

There is a beautiful photo layout of the Roberts family that includes the mother, daughters, granddaughter Dovie Leigh, and grandmother Lucimarian Roberts. Per the article Jessica states: “It is an incredible feeling now that I have a daughter to instill in her that she can do anything she puts her mind to because she has so many women in our family who have pioneered the way before us.” This article allows for an enjoyable discussion. Pick-up your free copy today or to read this article online click here.

“SSM ROBERTS PLACE”
WLOX TV 13 News on YouTube
April 15th, 2024

Book Review

Fire on the Beach

Discover a valuable gem of information on Richard Etheridge and his all Black crew of surfmen in the U.S. Life-Saving Service (LSS) on Pea Island, North Carolina. Fire on the Beach: Recovering the Lost Story of Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers (335 pages, 2002, hardcover) by David Wright & David Zoby is an excellent book. The authors did an exceptional amount of research to provide many historical details on the topic. I am very appreciative of their work.

*“He fought against the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War (1861-1865).”*

The book is divided into three sections about Richard Etheridge’s life. The first part focuses on his early life as a slave in North Carolina and his Union Army enlistment into 36^th U.S. Colored Troops (USCT). He fought against the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The book also pays homage to the 54^th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment featured in the movie Glory (1989). The second part is an introduction to the Life-Saving Service (LSS) in North Carolina. The LSS was an early forerunner to the U.S. Coast Guard Service. The third part reveals the life of a surfman with all its challenges and the heroism of the Pea Island crew.

*“The Black Pea Island surfmen would go on to to rescue the crew of the E.S. Newman amid extremely hazardous conditions.”*

The historical details cover the experiences of Black Civil War soldiers (e.g. lower wages compared to White soldiers, racism on the battlefield & in the military ranks, and their ability to liberate other slaves, including their wives, children, and other family members.) There are highlights of the Reconstruction period (1865-1877) and how the advances of African-American freedmen, fell victim to anti-Black socio-political sabotage to maintain racism as the status quo. The Black Pea Island surfmen would go on to to rescue the crew of the E.S. Newman amid extremely hazardous conditions. On March 5^th, 1996 they were rewarded for their ingenuity and brave rescue of the E.S. Newman with the Gold Life-Saving Medal, given posthumously by the U.S. Coast Guard.

*“African Americans are the ancestral survivors of these people who fought against the inhumanity of chattel slavery when they could and the best they could.”*

Unfortunately, half-truths and racist tropes still exist today about the plight of enslaved Africans in America. African Americans are the ancestral survivors of these people who fought against the inhumanity of chattel slavery (1619-1865, 246 years), when they could and the best they could. That part of the story needs to be told more often. And this book does a good job revealing that side of the story. African Americans participated in their own liberation from chattel slavery when they could through various means: as run away fugitives, plantation slave revolts, lawsuits, and enlistment into the Union Army during the American Civil War.

*“But there is recognition of a common thread of similarity when people feel entitled to own other people.”*

Finally, I remember many years ago the artist formerly known as Prince claimed unfair dealings in the music industry was a form of slavery. He even wore the word “Slave” on his face in public. This is not a comparison of chattel slavery to unfair contractual dealings. Because these two issues are very different. But there is recognition of a common thread of similarity when people feel entitled to own other people. So, when statements are made to degrade the dignity and plight of enslaved Africans due to ignorance, racist half-truths, or attention-seeking behavior, remember these people had a nation and laws working against them while living in a foreign country. A lot of food for thought. I appreciate the outstanding research done in this book to help restore the dignity of these remarkable people. And tell their side of the story.

🌷Book Quotes:

“Hurricanes and nor’easters could rise up from the Atlantic with no warning, stunning and destroying whole fleets at once.”

“And the black troopers put their confidence in their officers. One, First Lieutenant James Backuss, was excused from the fight because of lameness…but he disobeyed orders to stay with the men and lead them into battle. It was men liked Backuss who exemplified what was best about the white officers.”

“Blacks made up about 11 percent of the Union Army when the fighting ended. By the fall, with the large numbers of white volunteer regiments demobilized, the percentage of USCT jumped suddenly to 36 percent of the active forces.”