Sankofa

A kaleidoscope of African-American arts and crafts from near and far will be on view at the Maryland Historical Society beginning Sunday, when a two-part show opens to the public. "Sankofa," a term from the Akan language spoken in Ghana, means retrieve the past to move forward. It's also the title of one part of the show, containing the nationally known collection of Derrick Joshua Beard, of Atlanta. To complement it, the Historical Society also presents "The Maryland Tradition," a gathering of works from public and private collections across the state, some of which have never been seen in public.

As she squeezed a tube of paint onto the square ceramic tile to write out her plea for a more compassionate society, Veronica Armstrong had recent news events on her mind. "I wrote `Love one another' because there have been different situations, such as the boy whose mother died because the 911 operator didn't believe him and the Duke lacrosse controversy, that leave me with the sense that there's no love for one another," she said. With such a strong yearning in her heart, she said she felt compelled to design a tile for the mural that is being created on the campus of McDaniel College in Westminster as part of the school's annual Diversity Week.

Baruti Taylor has seen the movie four times. Three people urged Kathy Newson to see the movie. She did, loved it and is encouraging others to go. Dawn Jones was assigned the movie for a college history course; now she wants to see it again with all her sorority sisters.The movie is "Sankofa." It recounts the lives of slaves, from the viewpoint of one woman who travels back in time to an American sugar plantation, where she is a house slave."Sankofa" has become the hot movie in Baltimore's African-American community.

WHEN ARNOLD Williams last week became the first African-American to chair the Baltimore Development Corp., his well-wishers at City Hall included some unusual investors - four leading pastors. They were there as the vanguard of divine capitalism, an emerging phenomenon that holds great promise for the city but may also lead to complicated political and tax problems. One of Mr. Williams' great challenges will be to balance the two - to harness the religious community's tremendous resources for the overall betterment of the city, but avoid the pitfalls that often come from mixing God with Mammon.

At one of the 10 movie theaters at the Westview Cinemas, a full house for the 4:30 p.m. show leaves to make way for a full house for the 7 p.m. show. This has been going on for over a month now, and the film at this particular theater doesn't even have a distributor. The only advertising it has received has been by word of mouth.The film is called ''Sankofa.'' It is a tale of the brutality of African enslavement in the Western hemisphere and how Africans resisted it. ''Sankofa'' is an Akan word -- from the people who inhabit what is today the African country of Ghana -- that means to return to the past to recoup what you've lost and then move forward.

As part of the "Celebrate the African Spirit" series at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Sankofa Dance Theatre presented its annual "Harvest Celebration" over the weekend. Under the choreographic direction of the husband and wife team of Kauna Mujamal and Kibibi Ajanku, the company celebrated the dance and musical traditions of Senegal, Guinea and Brazil in an high-wattage showcase of talent and energy.Sankofa means "reaching back to look forward," and the Baltimore company lived up to its name in its performance of traditional African ceremonies, songs and dances.

Jumping and twisting their bodies, the African dancers seem more like pulses than performers, colorful animations of the drumming that surges like a river through the old mill building in Dickeyville.As they are lifted and swept by currents of sound, these dancers are a reminder of how little separates artists from the source of their art."African dance opens you up to become the art," says Kibibi Ajanku, a principal dancer with Sankofa Dance Theatre. "In Africa, traditionally, there's no break between life and art. We don't make a painting to hang on the walls, the painting is the house.

Sankofa Dance Theater never has been sedentary. But the most nomadic year in its life is officially over Sunday, when Sankofa blesses its new home with a ceremony and performance."

Dontray Colbert figures he can be an engineer, if only he masters math. So the 15-year-old Edmondson/ Westside High School freshman has enrolled in an after-school program designed to help him calculate with comfort. "Right now I'm making C's, and my goal is B's and A's," said Dontray, who is taking algebra at Edmondson. "I want to try to bring my grades up." Today, Dontray and about 35 other students from five Baltimore public schools will begin taking Kumon classes. Developed in 1954 by Japanese math instructor Toru Kumon, the discipline is designed to help children in prekindergarten through 12th grade improve reading and math skills.

The sky's the limitAerobatic acts, wing walkers, Warbirds, antique aircraft and rides in a hot air balloon, helicopter and airplane are just some of the events that you will find at the weekend's Jack B. Poage Air Show.Performers will include Ned Surrat, who will fly his PA-18 "Midwing Special" in ground-level precision performance, Bill Finagin and his Pitts Special, Matt Chapman performing his aerobatics and Roger Lehnert, known for his car-top landing in his modified Piper J-3 Cub. The legendary Gee Bee, the icon of air racing, will also be one of the show's highlights.

Dontray Colbert figures he can be an engineer, if only he masters math. So the 15-year-old Edmondson/ Westside High School freshman has enrolled in an after-school program designed to help him calculate with comfort. "Right now I'm making C's, and my goal is B's and A's," said Dontray, who is taking algebra at Edmondson. "I want to try to bring my grades up." Today, Dontray and about 35 other students from five Baltimore public schools will begin taking Kumon classes. Developed in 1954 by Japanese math instructor Toru Kumon, the discipline is designed to help children in prekindergarten through 12th grade improve reading and math skills.

Illusion show Abracadabra, alakazam - You will take your children to the Ace of Hearts' "Abra-KID-Abra" magic show, Tuesday 10:30 a.m- 11:15 a.m. at Federal Hill Park. See magic tricks designed to entertain children and adults. Tricks use animals, props and children from the audience. The event is part of the Baltimore Office of Promotion's Kids' Stuff program. The magic show takes place on Warren Street across from the Inner Harbor's Rash Field. Admission is free. For more information, call 1-888-BALTIMORE . Dance theater You should be dancing!

LOS ANGELES -- Standing in the middle of his modest, unmarked Los Angeles workshop, noisy with the whir of power tools, Derrick Joshua Beard has begun to reconstruct history plank by plank.Beard, 41, who has been variously an architect, a collector and curator, has spent a life reanimating pieces of the past that have somehow drifted out of view.Just past the shop's entrance, lined up almost like a gathering of pews in a dimly lighted storefront church, sit five identical bed frames -- each with the sloped headboard and footboard mimicking an old-fashioned sleigh.

THE GIVING SPIRIT OF Christmas is flourishing at Oklahoma Road Middle School. Pupils at the Eldersburg school have been working to create a town scene dubbed Winter Wonderland.More than a dozen pupils in a group called the Partners Club have spent the past two weeks working on the display, which covers about 50 square feet. Pupils in the club spend time during their skills class working with pupils in teacher Lois Dolan's Learning for Independence class.I visited the Winter Wonderland display last week as the children were putting finishing touches on their work.

Sankofa Dance Theater never has been sedentary. But the most nomadic year in its life is officially over Sunday, when Sankofa blesses its new home with a ceremony and performance."

WHEN JOANN BENSON and her family saw a performance by Kibibi Ajanku and Kauna Mujamal this summer, she knew they had seen something special."We saw them perform this summer at a Carroll County public library cultural program, and I was impressed," Benson said of Sankofa Dance Theatre of Baltimore.So when Charles Carroll Elementary School, where Benson teaches music, was looking for a cultural program, Benson suggested Sankofa Dance Theatre.On Friday, the students at Charles Carroll were treated to African culture, presented in song, dance and folklore.

Through energetic drumming and carefully choreographed moves, members of the Sankofa Dance Theater bring African-American history to life.On Wednesday, the Baltimore-based cultural arts organization will help commemorate Black History Month by giving a free performance at 7 p.m. at Carroll Community College."

LOS ANGELES -- Standing in the middle of his modest, unmarked Los Angeles workshop, noisy with the whir of power tools, Derrick Joshua Beard has begun to reconstruct history plank by plank.Beard, 41, who has been variously an architect, a collector and curator, has spent a life reanimating pieces of the past that have somehow drifted out of view.Just past the shop's entrance, lined up almost like a gathering of pews in a dimly lighted storefront church, sit five identical bed frames -- each with the sloped headboard and footboard mimicking an old-fashioned sleigh.

The sky's the limitAerobatic acts, wing walkers, Warbirds, antique aircraft and rides in a hot air balloon, helicopter and airplane are just some of the events that you will find at the weekend's Jack B. Poage Air Show.Performers will include Ned Surrat, who will fly his PA-18 "Midwing Special" in ground-level precision performance, Bill Finagin and his Pitts Special, Matt Chapman performing his aerobatics and Roger Lehnert, known for his car-top landing in his modified Piper J-3 Cub. The legendary Gee Bee, the icon of air racing, will also be one of the show's highlights.

The Maryland Historical Society has planned a day of events and a concert series to complement its exhibition "Sankofa & The Maryland Tradition."The Society will be host to an afternoon of music, storytelling and crafts demonstrations dedicated to the creative history of African-Americans in Maryland from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.Events include Camay Calloway Murphy, Cab Calloway's daughter, reading "Can A Coal Scuttle Fly?" -- a children's book about Baltimore African-American artist Tom Miller -- and a dramatic portrayal of Maryland-born abolitionist Harriet Tubman.