2019 marks 400 years since Africans from Angola were forcibly brought to the British colony of Virginia in August 1619. InterPlayers of African ancestry in collaboration with Body Wisdom, the Insight Group and the Body Wisdom Board’s Racial Equity and Transformation Committee, are calling all InterPlayers to gather and commemorate the African arrival and African experience in the United States on Friday, August 16, 2019 at the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL.

This day-long offering will take place on Friday, August 16 amidst the 2019 Leaders Gathering taking place at the Mountain Retreat Center in Highlands, NC (Aug 14-18). Anyone may choose to participate in this special experience. Other programming will be offered for those who remain at the retreat center.

A bus will leave that Friday morning at 6 am from the retreat center. Breakfast food will be provided on the bus. The bus will arrive in Montgomery late morning for a day of reflection and commemoration at the museum and memorial. It will return to the retreat center by 11:00 pm. We will find places to eat lunch and dinner in Montgomery. The trip will be a long one (Montgomery is about 5–5.5 hours from the retreat center) but also a unique and powerful opportunity.

You may come to Montgomery even if you are not attending the Leaders Gathering. Join us at the Legacy Museum 115 Coosa Street, Montgomery, AL 36104; and/or the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, 417 Caroline Street, Montgomery AL 36104. The bus should arrive no later than noon that Friday. Please be sure to register so we can get you a ticket and also give you a cell phone contact number to be in touch with the group. Here is a list of sites, restaurants and hotels in Montgomery...

The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration opened to the public on April 26, 2018, in Montgomery, Alabama. The 11,000-square-foot museum is built on the site of a former warehouse where enslaved black people were imprisoned, and is located midway between an historic slave market and the main river dock and train station where tens of thousands of enslaved people were trafficked during the height of the domestic slave trade.

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which opened to the public on April 26, 2018, is the nation’s first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved black people, people terrorized by lynching, African Americans humiliated by racial segregation and Jim Crow, and people of color burdened with contemporary presumptions of guilt and police violence. 

Both of these new institutions were created by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a nonprofit organization committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. It was founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson, a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer and best-selling author of Just Mercy.

Please register for this very special experience and commemoration.

Cost: Admission to the two locations is $10. Tickets will be ordered in advance as a group. Use the PayPal button if you want to pay for your ticket, or register by contacting the Body Wisdom office at 510/465-2797 or info@interplay.org. The cost of transportation will be covered by Body Wisdom, Inc. and breakfast will be covered by your registration for the Leaders Gathering. You will be responsible for the cost of your lunch and dinner. Scholarships are also available to cover meal costs.

ALSO...

On August 7, 2019 at 7 pm East Coast time (4 pm West Coast time), InterPlayers are invited to an online gathering to share insights and resources on the African arrival and experience in Virginia and the United States. Honoring and respecting their experience is a part of the Body Wisdom commitment to Racial Equity and Transformation. Kamau Kitwana will host along with others.

The call will last about 90 minutes and the group will gather using Zoom. Here are the login details:

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/5104652797

Or iPhone one-tap:
US: +16699006833,,5104652797# or +14086380968,,5104652797#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location)?
US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 408 638 0968 or +1 646 876 9923
Meeting ID: 510 465 2797
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=Hq-C97a0ILR3WLawaztl6ReBlVuHf2QQ