You saw that document the story we listen after was saying youre peons go build United States of you but we would not be with you we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matter just 0. Welcome to the stream im femi oke i more and more people on the sting africa to reconnect with that past and its helping inspire them in the present today we look at how the African Diaspora is really examining the culture achievements and struggles of the ad sisters through travel and how its empowering them you can join the conversation through twitter i need. To know where youre going you have to know where you have come from that is the loose translation of sun cofa it is a guy named principal inspiring one u. S. Organization that is helping young people travel to africa to examine their roots every here but africa sends people of african descent on us fill trips that highlight the experience the African Diaspora before an all expenses paid trip to come on that has more of what the 21000 program meant to one student. My name is my intention to be a sponge party soak up everything. That im experiencing here everything that im learning and be able to be. Drowned out in the United States so i can give this energy. Knowledge everybody. So they can become sponges as well. Ghana is just one country that is welcoming thousands of African Diaspora visit has looking to learn about their heritage and these are some of the hashtags driving the conversation from African Heritage go back to africa to people about that in just a moment but beyond that return year if we turn 2019 that mots 400 years since the 1st enslaved africans arrived in the new world one member of our Like Community says heritage tourism to africa helps inspire new ideas and could spur long Term Investment in africa and we also got a video comment about the importance of birthright tourism to the continent and have a look birthrate journeys to africa are critical to the continent well do that for the descendents done properly the great journey is even better understanding of the past and after that there is a sense of belonging and purpose. Those in the beginning of the present day africa as prior to the future leaders there come to see united with police to better an incredible treat for more on this were joined from new york by awhile alshaykh she is cofounder and c. E. O. Of birthright africa also in new york shana lewis shes a student who has taken part in the birthright Africa Program actually boy id is a tour guide to Cape Coast Castle in ghana he joins us from the cape coast and from atlanta we have eric malting hes cofounder of black at a board a travel company that provides curated experiences for black travelers hello everybody its really great to see you. First of all this idea of giving every young person who is of african descent in the u. S. An opportunity to go back home how on earth did you come up with such a huge idea and how is it even practical. While it was something i needed i think at some point all of us in the diaspora come to realize that we dont really know our history and where were from and for me even as a continental african i was born in sudan but i grew up everywhere else and was west even as today and for the couple of years i was there i had a westernized education so i come to the u. S. At the age of 11 and i continue that westernized education and around my mid twentys i started really seeing that there was a gap in my connection to the continent i had been home in 15 years and i also learned about another program that provides free trips for people of jewish descent to go back to israel to learn history and culture for free and i said why is this happening people i need so there must be a whole bunch of us yeah you must be out of relates this because you have an organization a company that accumulates trips to the continent who is actually wanting to do that why do you think. One thing that we noticed through black in abroad is that many the interest that we get is from other africanamericans. Many of us in black people in africa american you know africanamericans in the u. S. We have a fragmented 3 sense of identity because of the fact that many of us cant trace our history back beyond the south so and thats you know a lot of and we can probably talk about how the installation of africans isnt really taught in the western education so theres a lot of mystery behind our origins and where were from and then theres this war thats been driven between us and the continent through narratives that have been perpetuated about the continent since the beginning of time so theres a lot of deconstruction thats happening these days with the transparency of social media and through the trips that we offer the experiences that we offer through black and white do you know that last time you went to the content why was that and what was that experience like. Well absolutely the 1st time ive been to the continent was actually in 20 i think it was 2013 yeah i did south africa as people a lot of people do when they 1st country so. It was funny because i have been to many countries before and ive never received any concern from friends or family members but the minute i stepped in or announced that i was going to the card. Be careful whats going to happen. And its actually one of the most its the most comfortable ever felt on any consonant in the world and theres a different ive been in many destinations but there is a difference Spiritual Connection that you get and im not going to say and just in south africa but yeah in your each african country has its own essence so yeah theres so much connection to have and singing as a tall guy at you must experience the experiences of people who are coming to africa for the 1st time and thought of as a faceless place that theyve ever been to what is it like being that that person who educates them the house and understand some of the heritage as a responsibility. You know personally believe i understand and knowing how to Different Things you know people that our motto we call the caribbean on the armory cares when youre in the power anything in the law but you dont know what action you have and in educating people you have to let them understand that africa is their real home of every black british and i want to stop british i want to establish it is really African People really believe that a loss is this nevada when we really come down systems and when the us is this are born they become us so my role at a castle is to actually educate people in to strengthen the relationship between going to america. So i want to go on one of your toss shana you said some of your pictures this takes us back to when when did you when did you go on the birthright africa trip because here you are just staring at the possibilities of where you could go tell us about that trip ok so i took this trip in the summer 2018 with the local org who are also part of the q. Needs to stem. The flow growing beer i start to act seeing a lot of introspective questions about what it means to be black to be of african descent and what it means to be part of the diaspora and in an era of social media age where were more connected then there was this question of is that connection still there so going to the continent in itself and being able to witness the culture witness the spirituality witness the welcoming nature of the gun people i love with no doubt that there is still a connection between africans on the continent and africans within the diaspora. I have to share this with you because i asked a lot of our Online Community if you were designing a heritage trip where would you take a young person from the african despite the asper south africa came up in the variety of how we teach culture is historical sites a lot to see there. Northern nigeria which is a place probably less traveled the most people would not yesterday think of Northern Nigeria another area been in city again in nigeria and i think you remote who is a friend of the stream says any heritage trip has to take aim several it must include dancing and singing with our masquerades let me give you a little taste of what that looks like. Well how do you decide what are you going to take the young people what is going to be the most useful for them to learn sure so the way we work out birthright africa where essentially an Umbrella Organization collaborating with our Education Partners high schools Colleges Universities and Community Based organizations and so we are open to where ever they want to go any of the 54 countries in the african continent as long as its the safe to travel by the state department and so its really a desire where the communities of african descent people in the u. S. Want to make that connection and so all the cities and the countries that were mentioned could be a possibility we have targets countries for sure like nigeria south africa kenya you know. And senegal but again we are open to where ever that connection is desired by our Education Partners and because the knotting and i want to share something in particular ill come right back to you and its a go back to Africa Campaign it uses a trope which often people of color who live outside of perhaps where the ancestors came from and they live in other places around the model often told as a way of being insulted is go back to where you come from go back to where you belong and you took that phrase and turned it into something positive lets have a look. I. Dont. Want to. Believe. That tripe and turned it into something positive these are some of the places where people can go to if theyre with black and abroad and the pictures are stunning africa is extraordinary wedding even start for actually saying. This is where you could go this is what you could get out of the experience eric. Well i think the 1st part is to displace the narrative thats been set for so long thats been one of the most genius Marketing Campaigns there has had as confused for quite some time about our homeland is that its not safe is that its full of poverty is that its full of depressing nuances that couldnt be further from the truth so our 1st step was to be able to allow people to be able to showcase themselves. Join the continent which you typically dont see in the media so we wanted to showcase images through our web say go back to africa dot com showcase images of ourselves enjoying our continent and. Creating these images and fulfilling and filling up google results with beautiful images of beautiful black people enjoying themselves on the continent when we talk about destinations they depend based on the history so of course africanamericans we probably have a wider interest in the western african countries only because there are they those are the countries where the the landing transatlantic trade took place so a lot of our ports are there a lot of doors and no returns are located in those countries so its a very it all depends on origins in the history of the traveler when you talk about destinations show china tell us about the moment where you are off a no train where every change there are some insight that he thought he would never have would have caught if the statehouse. You know for me that would be the moment where we went to the Cape Coast Castle. In my found cliche because. Thats a significant moment for everybody that makes that travel to the continent but it was significant because it demonstrated their strength of my ancestors of our ancestors to survive what they survived not only within the castle but explicitly looking out onto the whole rising to the horizon and realizing that i didnt know what was to come so imagine their fear after being traumatized within those dungeons going on so this foreign land and on this ocean they have no clue where it leaves so to have that kind of resilience to survive that Transatlantic Slave Trade now only so bagdad to survive centuries of belittling torture mental in slave meant also that i could have the opportunity to be here you know that takes nothing that is nothing but resilience so it definitely made me more focus explicitly in my studies and what i wanted to do with my life and gave me a sense of peace and a gratefulness that i dont im not sure if i had before actually i see you nodding go ahead articulate or not i know that hes going on that cape costal telling sat yeah. You can settle and then eric eric has been on the tools so i want to get erics thoughts about the tour but do you see people and they really being moved like i feel the so much more to garner than slavery but this is important right. This is more important you know when you see people murdered you you know school i want to see is this one. And i always tell my brothers and sisters not intended come to africa. There they are embarking on their lives change in. This life changing. Because its. What their balance is this where you know i can immerse them they are or by 800 african men in most of the african men definitely. Its their dream. So you can in my independent is not helpful so any time i live in the top i always on fridays by. Choice that peace should not but what i once was just went black people absolutely and you know her strong people you should never. You dont have to deal. With that. I just want to say that ive gotten a chance to take anthonys tour quite a few times because the cape coast dungeon is one of the places that we visit with our black and abroad experiences so. The you know we have groups that we bring and i can tell you the spiritual fortitude and connection that our guest walk away with is indescribable. You know of course we there is a balance of history and a little bit of time but ill tell you the most important and the most memorable experience from from our gonna destinations are going to trips the Cape Coast Castle in dungeon quarters and anthony is a has his delivery has always brought our guest to tears so were very sensitive about you know the moments after that we dont want to go and do something strangely you know fine after that after we just learned about years and years of torture that weve experienced. I just like to say that his his toys are amazing and im looking forward to more this year let me just bring in question blanks and question blanks and makes a connection between how to teach torres and what this actually means to you as a person particularly going up as a young person and the African Diaspora lets have a listen to see. A fricken heritage sites such as it could cost council under the voice and hold off because there is a program to rely on meds with the i route because the sides of memories memories of the experience of a journey from the norm to the on normal concert for instance some of the sites that signify the beginning of slavery and freedom and the suppression of the african family in a sister that wasnt on the Services Side but trickling legs africas back to their roots and to give us a straight what im getting some interesting feedback on our lives he chewed chatty and i want to share some of this with you because s. And questions been an os so hes saying that the world has moved on moved on from slavery and some black americans are still stuck in the past. I want you to explain what is the value of reconnecting with your heritage if youre very much removed from it or if youre not taught about it as oh yeah well its interesting that term stuck in the past well youre stuck because you havent had you havent had a chance to explore it you dont really know the history so youre stuck in the pain of the shame of it where by growing and reconnecting and understanding the resilience you actually gain. In an understanding of the resilience to then actually get past it like sheena just described you know if it gives you a sense of healing and a sense peace to know that this is what my answer says went through in overcame theres nothing to be stuck in ashamed about it but rather use it for my future. Id like to chime in on that and id like to say i want i want to pose a question to know if power comes from any part of the diaspora or has the tape because you have to be speaking from a place of privilege to say move on when you say move on move on from what i mean we these are these are hundreds of years of torture and many of us have been stripped from our identity from our languages from our families and so weve definitely moved on and made the best of the circumstances well who doesnt want to know their own origins or their heritage what country they may have originated from a lot of us dont know that so how can you move on from there actually where would you move on to if you dont know where you came from so thats coming from a place of privilege and that unfortunately echoes a lot of narratives rooted in white and black and White Supremacy when you say things like that you dont realize that you are you bracing years and years of torture and potential discoveries that can be made so just be careful when you say things like that because you dont know what people are dealing with or how Much Research theyve done to find out where theyre from so thats all i got to. Let me come in you know when she says it is. You know her spirit you are you have to move on. My british system or because in were sent men to kill joy you have to move on. And one other will. Land in African LanguagesAfrican Languages when i see us my regret is she says theres African Americans in the media i responded media you know now make you forget and when you come together we can see is there any do chris or crisis is theres no come to. Think about what. Yes and i had. I was just going to say that i dont think theres ever been an era of reconciliation for those of us in the i asked who have suffered through slavery for africanamericans it has been from slavery so jim crow to mass incarceration in the caribbean and you have slavery to colonialism was just ended in what the late 1950 s. Or early 1960 s. For me as a haitian am