Credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University
The Ritual of Remembrance held Friday aimed to recognize and honor the legacies of those who were enslaved on the property that now makes up the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University. Above, Baltimore-based performance group Urban Foli leads a musical tribute to the enslaved men, women, and children who lived and labored on Homewood. The performance was accompanied by a recitation of the names of those who were enslaved and a libation, or pouring out of water, in accordance with West African traditions for honoring the deceased.
"The Ritual of Remembrance is a starting point—we don't yet know all the names of the people who were enslaved there, and more names should be added as we learn more," said event organizer Jasmine Blanks Jones. "This event is about more than just remembering them. Let it spark conversations and action."
The Ritual of Remembrance included a recitation of the names of those who were enslaved on the Homewood property, as well as a participatory art project led by Jeneanne Collins. Attendees were asked to take a rock painted with the name of an enslaved person and place it somewhere around the Homewood campus to signify the enduring presence of those individuals.
Credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University
First-year undergraduate Yasmine Bolden reads an original monologue written by Jasmine Blanks Jones from the composite point of view of a woman enslaved on the Homewood property during the Ritual of Remembrance
Credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University
