top of page
Home: Welcome
sankofa 25th aniv circle logo for web_ed
IMG_0418.jpg

Since '98

Founded by Shirikiana and Haile Gerima and named after the internationally acclaimed film SANKOFA they produced. It's symbol, the Sankofa Bird, looks backward constantly checking as she moves into the future.

 

Sankofa Video, Books & Cafe is liberated territory that hopes to be a place where thoughtful consideration of the past and future can take place via books, films, and programming particularly generated by and about people of African Descent.

Screen Shot 2018-06-01 at 6_edited.png
Black lions roman wolves6.1.jpg


Black
Lions
,
Roman Wolves

Support today by making a tax-deductible donation towards final completion costs of Black Lions, Roman Wolves, the 5-part, 10-hour-plus documentary film by Haile Gerima.

Haile Gerima's
next film:

 

 Featured Books

sankofa gift card

Can't decide on a gift? How about a gift card!

(You can even schedule it ahead.)

Upcoming Events

  • Kaos Theory: A Book Signing Event with Ben Caldwell Moderated by Isaac Alicea
    Kaos Theory: A Book Signing Event with Ben Caldwell Moderated by Isaac Alicea
    Thu, Apr 11
    Sankofa Video & Books
    Apr 11, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
    Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Apr 11, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
    Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Join us as we learn about KAOS Theory: The Afrokosmic Ark of Ben Caldwell which tells the story of filmmaker, educator and community activist Ben Caldwell and KAOS Network, the media-arts center he founded in Los Angeles's Leimert Park neighborhood.
  • Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition & Maroon Film Project Fundraiser
    Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition & Maroon Film Project Fundraiser
    Fri, Apr 12
    Sankofa Video & Books
    Apr 12, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
    Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Apr 12, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
    Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Learn about the current efforts by the BACC is fighting to end the desecration of Moses African Cemetery and working to return the land to the Black descendant community for proper stewardship. Watch exclusive scenes from Haile Gerima's Upcoming Film, The Maroon Project!
  • HNS Presents: -  I Am an Antiracist Superhero: With Activities to Help You Be One Too!
    HNS Presents: -  I Am an Antiracist Superhero: With Activities to Help You Be One Too!
    Sat, Apr 13
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café
    Apr 13, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Apr 13, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Happy Nappy Storytelling is back to bring you another amazing story from a Black author. This time we're welcoming Dr.Jennifer N. Bacon author of I Am An Antiracist Superhero!
  • Blacksound  Making Race and Popular Music in the United States Matthew Morrison in Conversation with Joshua Myers
    Blacksound  Making Race and Popular Music in the United States Matthew Morrison in Conversation with Joshua Myers
    Sat, Apr 13
    Sankofa Video & Books
    Apr 13, 2024, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
    Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Apr 13, 2024, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
    Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Join us for a deep dive into Matthew Morrison's latest release, Blacksound: Making Race and Popular Music in the United States!
  • Friday Night Flight$
    Friday Night Flight$
    Multiple Dates
    Fri, Apr 26
    Washington
    Apr 26, 2024, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
    Washington, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Apr 26, 2024, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
    Washington, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
  • Paint a Flower Pot with Feeling Rare MakeSpace
    Paint a Flower Pot with Feeling Rare MakeSpace
    Sat, Apr 27
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café
    Apr 27, 2024, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Apr 27, 2024, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Ready to try something fun and creative?! Join the facilitators of Feeling Rare makespace for an afternoon of creation! Sign up to paint your own plant pot that comes with a new plant!
  •  I'll Give You a Reason: Stories
     I'll Give You a Reason: Stories
    Wed, May 01
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café
    May 01, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    May 01, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Join us as we launch Annell Lopez's debut title I'll Give You a Reason! Annell will be in conversation with Jamila Minnicks!
  • Color Me, Mama: Birth & Postpartum Affirmations for New Moms
    Color Me, Mama: Birth & Postpartum Affirmations for New Moms
    Sat, May 04
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café
    May 04, 2024, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    May 04, 2024, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Join us for a heartwarming celebration of Black motherhood with author Leah Hairston, MSSW as she introduces her uplifting coloring book, "Color Me, Mama: Birth & Postpartum Affirmations for New Moms."
  • I Love My People
    I Love My People
    Thu, May 09
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café
    May 09, 2024, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    May 09, 2024, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Next up, we've got Kim Singleton the author of I Love My People, a love letter to African American culture and the people who make it great! Perfect to add to your coffee table!
  • Deep Currents
    Deep Currents
    Fri, May 10
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café
    May 10, 2024, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    May 10, 2024, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Join us for another amazing screening! Deep Currents is a 5 movement audiovisual art piece (a true collaboration between Seaux Chill & David McKissic) celebrating the past, present, and future of Black Indianapolis.
  • Chapters of Change Presents: “All About Love” - Embracing Love, Empowering Women.
    Chapters of Change Presents: “All About Love” - Embracing Love, Empowering Women.
    Sat, May 11
    Sankofa Video & Books
    May 11, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
    Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    May 11, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
    Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Do you want to know what it means to truly love and cultivate healthier relationships? Are your current beliefs about love holding you back from fulfilling relationships? What if “All About Love” can unlock the secrets to healthier relationships?
  • HNS Presents: Neo & Nubia
    HNS Presents: Neo & Nubia
    Sun, May 12
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café
    May 12, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    May 12, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Happy Nappy Storytelling is back at it again with another amazing children's event! We've got the authors of the Neo & Nubia series, Chinwe Onyeagoro and Oby Onyeagoro ready to read aloud! You don't want to miss this!
  • Chapters of Change Presents: Unveiling Narratives - 'I Wish My Dad' - A Chapter of Mental Wellness
    Chapters of Change Presents: Unveiling Narratives - 'I Wish My Dad' - A Chapter of Mental Wellness
    Sat, May 18
    Sankofa Video & Books
    May 18, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
    Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    May 18, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
    Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Have you ever felt the weight of unsaid words, unvalidated emotions, or dismissed experiences in your dynamic with your father? Are you curious about how these moments impacted your well-being? Join this bibliotherapy event with licensed professionals!
  • HNS Presents:RUBY RENÉ HAD SO MUCH TO SAY
    HNS Presents:RUBY RENÉ HAD SO MUCH TO SAY
    Sun, May 19
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café
    May 19, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    May 19, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Happy Nappy Storytelling is back at it again and this time we're bringing Ashley Iman to the stage to share. her debut title Ruby René Had so Much to Say!
  • Do The Write Thing with Kwame Alexander
    Do The Write Thing with Kwame Alexander
    Thu, May 23
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café
    May 23, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    May 23, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Calling all authors! We are excited to welcome author, Kwame Alexander as he spends an hour answering questions about the publishing industry and how to write and publish your book!
  • Stepping Out: The Unapologetic Style of African Americans Over Fifty
    Stepping Out: The Unapologetic Style of African Americans Over Fifty
    Date and time is TBD
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café
    Date and time is TBD
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Date and time is TBD
    Sankofa Video, Books, & Café, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
    Join us as we welcome Connie Briscoe into the space the brains behind Stepping Out: The Unapologetic Style of African Americans Over Fifty!
Threads

Official Sankofa Apparel

MISSED A LIVE EVENT?

Catch the replay at SankofaTV

Holy Ghost Key with A. B. Spellman
02:23:40

Holy Ghost Key with A. B. Spellman

About the book: Joshua Myers's Holy Ghost Key celebrates the essential role of African music in the continuity and sustenance of African Diasporic life and culture. Myers weaves his broad knowledge of African and African American music practices, genres and instruments with his memory of gospel lyrics and symbols evoking African spirituality, showing us the ways in which this music has been both the light on our path and the grounding of our historic journey. Though many of the poems pay tribute to the genius of contemporary musicians who have won popular acclaim, the entire collection reminds of a persistent African ancestral legacy. About the author: Joshua M. Myers is an Associate Professor of Africana Studies in the Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University. He is the author of Holy Ghost Key, the winner of the 2023 Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Prize (Broadside Lotus Press, due February 2024), Of Black Study (Pluto, 2023), Cedric Robinson: The Time of the Black Radical Tradition (Polity, 2021), and We Are Worth Fighting For: A History of the Howard University Student Protest of 1989 (NYU Press, 2019), as well as the editor of A Gathering Together: Literary Journal. His research interests include Africana intellectual histories and traditions, Africana philosophy, musics, and foodways as well as critical university studies, and disciplinarity. His work has been published in TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, Zanj: The Journal of Critical Global South Studies, Critical Ethnic Studies Journal, Washington History, The Journal of Academic Freedom, The Journal of African American Studies,The Journal of Pan African Studies, The African Journal of Rhetoric, The Human Rights and Globalization Law Review, Downbeat, The New Inquiry , Pambazuka, Obsidian, and Burning House Press, among other literary spaces. He serves on the board of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations and the SNCC Legacy Project and is the senior content producer at the Africa World Now Project. He was the co-coordinator of the SNCC Legacy Project’s Black Power Chronicles Oral History Project and organizes with Washington DC’s Positive Black Folks in Action. In addition he serves on the editorial boards of The Compass: Journal of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations, Siyabonana: The Journal of Africana Studies, and The Journal of Black Studies. A central thread that guides all of this work is an approach to knowledge that takes seriously that peoples of African descent possess a deep sense of reality, a thought tradition that more than merely interprets what is around us, but can transform and renew these spaces we inhabit—a world we would like to fundamentally change. About the host: Poet and writer Alfred Bennett (A.B.) Spellman was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He earned a BS in political science from Howard University, where he also attended law school. He published his first book of poems, The Beautiful Days, in 1964 while working as a jazz music reviewer. His second book, Things I Must Have Known (2008), received an honorable mention from the Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award and was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry. Spellman has written essays and poetry for Rhythm Magazine and taught at Morehouse College, Emory University, Rutgers, and Harvard University. In 1975, he became director of the Arts in Education Study Project for the National Endowment of the Arts, where he held a series of positions, culminating in his role as deputy chairman for the Office of Guidelines, Panel and Council Operations. Spellman retired from the NEA in 2005; his service to the organization is honored by the A.B. Spellman Award for Jazz Advocacy. In addition to writing, Spellman has served on a number of arts panels, including the Advisory Group on the National Museum of African American History and Culture of the Smithsonian Institution.
HNS Presents: Neo & Nubia

HNS Presents: Neo & Nubia

About the book series: Neo and Nubia is a children’s picture book series for young readers (ages 5 to 10) and their families. Cleverly written and beautifully illustrated with a trio of brilliant young explorers. Set in present-day, where a wise man, Nnamdi, is one of the last living keepers of the world's oldest scrolls on which all knowledge is recorded. Unfortunately, his health is declining. So he sends his eight-year-old grandkids, Neo and Nubia, and their schoolmate, Emeka, on a secret quest to save human history from being lost. They go back in time to witness and document our most significant scientific discoveries and developments. From the great migration out of Africa and the first seafaring vessels to the invention of written language, the construction of the pyramids, and more. Together, the kids experience, learn, and grow through these incredible journeys. It’s a world of science and community where the triumphs of our past and the truth of our future connect. This series has been created by a global team of researchers, writers, and illustrators from many waves of the African Diaspora. About the authors: Chinwe Onyeagoro and Oby Onyeagoro are the creators of the Neo & Nubia series. Just like their main characters, they are siblings with roots in Nigeria who grew up in the United States and traveled the world learning about the contributions of the African Diaspora throughout history. Now, with six of their own kids, they are excited to share those same stories with the next generation. Chinwe lives in the Washington D.C. area and runs a technology company. She is a Harvard University graduate with a degree in Economics. Oby lives in London and works in finance. He studied Electrical Engineering and has a dual masters from Harvard Business School and Harvard School of Education.

New Arrivals

Never Miss An Event!

Open Book

Our Hours

The Bookstore is open 10am - 8pm everyday.

Sankofa Cafe is now open  8am - 10pm .

bottom of page