Asia Rainey
SANKOFA
Grandmother said I was her baby
Said I was sweet-beautiful like brown sugar
Said I was smart like old eyes and thick trees
Said she would hug me as long as she could
Said everybody won’t know how
Said I better move like water
Because ain’t nothing staying still
- Excerpt from the Poem
Sankofa
About Sankofa:
"Sankofa is a Swahili word which means 'return and get it.' The painting wasn't modeled from a photograph. I just wanted the face to come from where it needed to. When I was done, I realized that it was a blending of myself, my mother Katherine, and my grandmother. This chapter speaks to their memory, and other parts of my life that it is necessary I go back and learn from. I understand where I am standing when I can map the road that got me here."