What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 10am - 5pm Thursday 10am - 5pm

Sankofa Impact, 1408 18th Avenue, Seattle, WA (2026)

11/04/2025

The Civil Rights Movement was a time of courage, resistance, and transformation. From the mid-1950s through the 1960s, the movement’s goal was clear: to end segregation and secure equal rights for all people, regardless of race. Led by figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, and Fannie Lou Hamer, a generation of organizers, students, and everyday people demanded a new vision for America.

The movement arose in direct response to the violence and inequity that followed the Reconstruction era. As the promise of freedom was met with white supremacist backlash, Black communities faced racial terror lynchings, exclusionary laws known as Black Codes, and court rulings like Plessy v. Ferguson that legalized segregation under the doctrine of “separate but equal.” These forces ushered in the Jim Crow era—an era that the Civil Rights Movement ultimately sought to dismantle.

Through the organizing power of groups like the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), communities across the nation united in nonviolent protest and civil disobedience. Their persistence led to landmark victories, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965—laws that redefined the American promise a century after the Civil War.

As the Civil Rights era came to a close, some organizations like SNCC fulfilled their mission and stepped back, while others evolved to address new challenges and broader visions of justice. The end of one chapter opened the door to so many others.

Sankofa Impact remembers the Civil Rights Movement not as a finished story, but as a foundation—a reminder that movements rise, transform, and make way for what comes next in the ongoing pursuit of liberation for all people.

10/31/2025

From 1894 to 1913, The Seattle Republican stood as one of the most successful Black-owned newspapers in the Pacific Northwest. While its name might suggest conservative leanings, the paper predated the “Southern Strategy” that later redefined political identities in America. In truth, The Republican took a progressive approach, advocating for civil rights, education, and equality under the law.

The paper covered stories from across Washington state and the nation, offering a crucial platform for Seattle’s growing Black community. Its editors encouraged Black families to move West during the early years of the Great Migration and used its pages to discuss vital issues of the time — the right to vote, fair treatment in schools, and equal justice in the courts.

As racial violence and discrimination increased in the early 20th century, The Seattle Republican refused to look away. It reported on lynchings and other forms of racial terror, drawing attention to injustices many others ignored. This commitment to truth-telling journalism eventually cost the paper financial support from white advertisers and allies, forcing its closure in 1913.

Yet the paper’s legacy endures. Its spirit lives on in modern Black media outlets like The Seattle Medium, The Facts, and South Seattle Emerald, all of which continue to speak truth to power.

Information and storytelling remain vital tools for justice. While technology and style have evolved, the need for trustworthy, community-rooted news has never been greater. Stay informed. Stay engaged. Stay woke, family.

10/28/2025

The Abolitionist Movement in the United States was integral in bringing light to the atrocities of chattel slavery in the 1800s. The movement's goal was to liberate the enslaved and make slavery illegal across the entire country. Notable leaders in the Abolitionist Movement were Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman, among various others who were outspoken in their views against enslavement.

This era in the United States is undoubtedly one of the darkest in the nation’s history. From brutality to dehumanization, slavery was a shameful practice that various states and countries abolished before it was outlawed nationwide.

The Abolitionist Movement of the 1800s came to an end in 1865 when the Union won the Civil War over the confederacy and the 13th Amendment was ratified in the Constitution, which made enslavement illegal, (except in the case of punishment.) The Abolitionist Movement accomplished its centuries long goal of ending the institution of slavery in the United States.

Today the Abolitionist Movement continues in its mission towards liberation for all. The movement has evolved to center around law enforcement, mass incarceration, and human trafficking—all inextricably linked to the era of enslavement. While the goals have changed, the basic premise remains: No one is free until every one of us is free.

09/19/2025

Sankofa Impact and Collective Justice recently visited the The Twin Rivers Unit at Monroe Correctional Complex (MCC) in Monroe, WA to conduct a Pilgrimage-in-Place workshop for 12 incarcerated participants.

We are proud to partner with Collective Justice, a restorative justice organization brought together by survivors and the imprisoned community members in Washington state. Collective Justice works toward cultural and systemic transformation that centers the dignity and resilience of all people impacted by mass imprisonment and violence. Over the last year Collective Justice has conducted a HEAL circle with the 12 incarcerated participants whom we met.

In 2016 Sankofa Impact’s Nathan Bean took a course with University Beyond Bars (UBB), at the Monroe Correctional Complex. That same year he experienced his first Pilgrimage to the South with Sankofa Impact. This was a profoundly moving experience for Nathan. While taking the UBB course he was in a learning community with an incarcerated UBB student named Devon Adams. In the years since 2016, Devon gained his freedom and began working with Collective Justice. Reconnecting in 2023, the pair found themselves in the same prison a decade later.

Sankofa Impact created the Pilgrimage in Place workshops during the pandemic, at a time when folks were stuck in their homes. Today, Pilgrimage in Place workshops are available in-person to companies, schools, organizations and other partnerships.

At the Twin Rivers Unit, the workshops were delivered to a group of participants who have had their freedom of movement taken away. This meant that for a couple hours, we were able to offer an immersive session that brought this powerful group of learners to the places where history happened.The workshop was powerful. It worked so well in this environment that it felt like Pilgrimage in Place workshops were intended for this community.

Thank you to Collective Justice, Devon, Dolphy, Felicia, Nathan, and the members of the HEAL circle for an unforgettable workshop.

07/10/2025

It has been one year since Sankofa Impact embarked on a month-long pilgrimage with the UW Honors Program aboard the bus students affectionately named the “Sankofaship.” The Honors: American South journey traced the legacies of enslavement, racial terror, the Civil Rights Movement, mass incarceration, and contemporary abolition activism across eight Southern states.

We began in Galveston for Juneteenth and ended in Washington, D.C. a month later. Along the way, we experienced every emotion, endured sweltering heat, and shared what many described as a life-changing experience.

This July 4th, we welcomed the group back to the Sankofa Impact office for a Sankofaship reunion. Together, we reflected on the impact of the trip and heard powerful updates about where participants are today. All agreed: the journey was transformative—and it continues to shape their lives both inside and outside the classroom.

We could not be more proud.

Address

1408 18th Avenue
Seattle, WA
98122

Opening Hours

Tuesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm

Telephone

+1 206-688-9820

Website

http://sankofaimpact.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Sankofa Impact posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Sankofa Impact:

Sankofa Impact