SANKOFA — The Anthem

INTRO — INSTRUMENTAL: MBIRA OSTINATO, BASS DRUM, CHOIR HUM, HANDCLAPS OPENING CHORUS — CHORUS I CALL — LEAD San-ko-fa! San-ko-fa! RESPONSE — CHOIR We go back — to move forward! We go back — to move forward! CALL — LEAD What was taken — RESPONSE — CHOIR We reclaim! CALL — LEAD What was broken — RESPONSE — CHOIR We rebuild! ALL The bird that looks back — soars forward! San-ko-fa — we rise! VERSE I — THE INTERRUPTED STORY (BOOK I) LEAD SOLO They said we had no history — Before their boots touched our shore. They drew their lines across our memory, And called what they found — nothing more. But our kings had governed kingdoms, Our scholars counted stars, Our healers knew the body — Before the world knew jars. CALL — LEAD They interrupted us — RESPONSE — CHOIR They did not erase us! CALL — LEAD They silenced us — RESPONSE — CHOIR But our voices remain! CHORUS II — REPRISE ALL — FULL CHOIR + LEAD San-ko-fa! San-ko-fa! We go back — to move forward! We go back — to move forward! What was taken — we reclaim! What was broken — we rebuild! The bird that looks back — soars forward! San-ko-fa — we rise! VERSE II — THE STRUCTURAL TRUTH (BOOKS II & III) LEAD SOLO The flags went up — but the chains remained, Dressed in different names. The borders drew lines through our families, And called their order — "nations." The debt was not inherited from failure — It was designed into the system. Our soil feeds the world's breakfast — But our children go to school hungry. CALL — LEAD We name it — RESPONSE — CHOIR We see it clearly! CALL — LEAD We understand it — RESPONSE — CHOIR And we will change it! BRIDGE — THE RECLAMATION DECLARATION ALL — SPOKEN IN UNISON, RHYTHMIC They interrupted us — They did not end us. They interrupted us — They did not end us. WE REMEMBER. WE RETURN. WE REBUILD. FINAL CHORUS — THE RISING ALL — FULL CHOIR, LEAD, MAXIMUM ENERGY San-ko-fa! San-ko-fa! We go back — to move forward! We go back — to move forward! What was taken — we reclaim! What was broken — we rebuild! The bird that looks back — soars forward! San-ko-fa — we rise! San-ko-fa! San-ko-fa! We rise! We rise! We rise! OUTRO — THE CHILD'S VOICE CHILD SOLOIST — UNACCOMPANIED "Sɛ wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi..."