The MAAFA Suite a powerful production

After attending last year's production, presidential candidate Rev. Al Sharpton said, "What Pastor Youngblood and St. Paul have done is phenomenal! We, as a people, should always revisit what happened to us as a people. And if the church does not raise it, then who is going to?" He continued, "I don't think there's a better production to recapture the anguish and the story of our experience under slavery than what I have seen in the MAAFA experience at St. Paul."

He went on to observe, "One of the things that was very striking to me is that they said in the MAAFA Suite that we should stop calling our ancestors 'slaves' because they were kidnapped free people who were made slaves. Our children think we were brought to this country as slaves, that we were already slaves when we got here. But we weren't slaves in Africa and then just transferred to America. We were captured and then enslaved here. There is a real difference."

Like Rev. Sharpton, every person who attends the MAAFA Suite comes away deeply stirred and educated. From start to finish it truly is an extraordinary experience, with a powerful message skillfully delivered.

The motto for the Commemoration of the MAAFA is "The Way Out Is Back Through." That is because Rev. Youngblood believes that the only way for people of African descent to pave the way for real change, both personal and political, is by acknowledging and purging the pain of the past. "The problems of racism and hatred currently plaguing many urban communities seemingly stem from present conditions; yet, the source of these problems are deeply rooted in a historical context," states Youngblood. "It is our past come back to haunt us. People of African descent are connected with the Commemoration as a vehicle for collective healing. We must return to our past to begin healing. Healing is not only possible but imperative."

The use of the Swahili word MAAFA to describe what is often referred to as The Middle Passage was begun by the African American scholar and author Dr. Marimba Ani. She saw the importance of people of African ancestry using African terms to refer to events that are central to their history. "We needed a term that would claim this experience for ourselves," she said.

The thing that's so unique about this production is the way the MAAFA Suite celebrates African culture and, at the same time, provides a medium in which to mourn the atrocities committed against African people. It is both exhilarating and brings one to tears over and over again.

As we come into the dimmed sanctuary of St. Paul for the performance, we enter between two cage-like structures that suggest a slave ship hull, with moaning, crying, sometimes screaming captured Africans inside. We are already being prepared for what is ahead as we walk down the isles to our seats.

The entire front of the large, beautiful sanctuary is transformed very imaginatively into a stage that is used to depict the journey from the vibrant communal life enjoyed in Africa before the Maafa; the kidnapping and forced transplantation to the New World; as well as the heartrending representation of what befell African people on this soil.

For three hours, the story is told through music, song, dance, ritual and the spoken word. Sometimes it is conveyed in very factual terms as authentic happenings are acted out, or characters, in powerful monologues, tell what was done to them. At other times, the message is brought across more symbolically.

And just purely from the standpoint of what makes good theater, it is a mighty thing to see scenes with well over 100 people taking part on the stage, in front of it and in the isles. Everything is well put together, expertly done.

One of the problems for a production such as this, since there is no happy ending with which to wrap it all up, is what do you do to conclude it so that you don't send the audience away in a total funk?

You talk about reparations, that's what. And it is magnificent. In the section entitled The Apology, written by Richard Kenyatta, a wonderful cast of 6 Citizens, some older and some younger, talk about what reparations would look like to them. And let me tell you, they want an apology with their reparations, and they want it loud; they want it in CAPITAL LETTERS; they want it to be able to reach into outer space and to the ears of Malcolm X!

Bernard White of WBAI radio, who is not quick to praise things, said that the MAAFA Suite caused him to have the greatest emotional experience he's ever had inside a house of God. If you attend it for yourself, you will see why.

For information about Commemorating the MAAFA 2003, from September 13 - 27, and the 4 performances of the MAAFA Suite, September 21 - 26, contact the St. Paul Community Baptist Church at (718) 257-1300 or Maafa@spcbc.com.