Sankofa

Sankofa, according to Africa folklore was the protector of the African American people. He used his drums to combat the evil spirits present among the world. The movie Sankofa portrays slavery in Lafayette with some of the most gruesome and shocking moments I have ever laid eyes on. During this movie there are many other subplots that occur but the ultimate goal for the slaves in Lafayette is a better life. A life not directed by a White Slave-owner. They sought and enacted ways that they could achieve one goal: freedom.

Sankofa starts of with Shola, the main character of the movie working under a number of slave-owners. She has a mutual friend by the name of Shongo who is the verbal leader of the slaves but also Shola's foundation of faith. On the plantation, also, is a woman by the name of Nunu who is, emotionally, the leader of the slaves on the plantation and is admired by all in the slave community. She exhibits the gift of gab, able to communicate to groups of hundreds a common message. She was also able to re-affirm the faith in all the slaves by telling them that one day freedom will come about because the almighty power is upon us.

Yet, this freedom will not come without sacrifice. Shongo tries to tell his other peers that the only way that freedom will come about is if there is a rebellion of sorts. That the African community must come together as a whole and revolt against the white slave masters. During one of the more gruesome scenes in the movie a group of slaves attempt to escape the plantation on foot but are unsuccessful and are caught by the white slave masters. A pregnant woman, named Kuta, is then whipped to death by the headmen, which was a black man who was like an extension of the white slave master. After Kuta is whipped to death Nunu in an act that appeared infeasible delivered the baby from the womb of a dead mother. Before this beating we are introduced to a man named Joe who is mixed with the Caucasian race. His views vary from those of this pure breed African constituents. He doesn't see the error of the white man's ways and believes that his own mother is possessed by evil spirits. The slaves looked down upon Joe because even though he thought that the whipping of the pregnant women was wrong and unjustified he did nothing to combat the white man's word. They saw him as sort of an uncle tom. After this vicious act, Shongo attempted to kill the white slave master but using a machete. He was unsuccessful and shot once and then beaten down. He was still alive but was then put in a guillotine and left there all night with no food. The white slave masters tried to send the others a message that a revolution of sorts would not go without being punished. Nevertheless Shongo still organized meetings where those who wanted to rebel, against the oppression of the white man, were welcome.

They then came up with a plan that would anger the white slave owners indefinitely. They decided to burn down all the cane in the field. This was a great plan until the repercussions started to set in. Since the white men did not know exactly who committed this act of disobedience they began punishing random people in hope that someone would own up to burning down some of the field's cane. This is when a bomb was dropped on the slaves. They found out that Nunu, the heart and soul of the slave community was being sold to another white man. Shola, as the rest of her peers, where devastated. But, Nunu left telling Ali, one of the slave masters who was attracted to her, with words that rang true, I'll be back.

Ali was the one of the main headmaster's that did the white man's dirty work. He, like Joe, never rebelled against the white man's word until Nunu was being