Decolonizing Perspectives in the Gambia

The following is the edited text of an essay sent to MPCPMP by Wayne Young, publisher of the online magazine, Port of Harlem, and long-time supporter of MPCPMP:

The Port of Harlem Gambian Education Partnership (POHGEP) is a non-profit organization that provides technical and financial assistance to students and educational institutions in the Gambia. In 2023 POHGEP curated the exhibit “From These Shores” (“Kabo Nying Fankas” in the Mandinka language) for the Juffureh Slavery Museum in Kunte Kinte's home village on the Gambia River's north bank. Financed through a bequest by Kevin Turner, a founding Board member of the Partnership, the exhibit was titled in the colonial language, English, and in six local languages – Mandinka, Serer, Wollof, Jola, Aku, and Fula – as well as in French, the colonial language of the neighboring sister nation, Senegal. Included in the public showing is the first N'ko script panel in Mandinka that celebrates the accomplishments of 18 known and lesser-known Africans in the diaspora. After reviewing the display, Hassoum Ceesay, Director General, National Centre for Arts and Culture in The Gambia, commented, “For the first time, the museum's exhibit has been decolonized," alluding to the fact that the museum's other exhibits only employ English. This exhibition reflects Turner’s insistence that we learn from each other and make progress together.

POHGEP continues to strive to make Decolonizing and Africanization efforts with its Gambian partners on other projects, including:

• Phillis Wheatley Library, a 700-plus book facility now focused on acquiring more books written by Gambians, such as Momodou Ndow's The Memories of a Gambian Child Series, in which the main characters are mosquitoes that are carriers of ever-present malaria; Wheatley was seized from Gambia/Senegal, West Africa at the age of seven or eight and transported to North America;

• Gambia River Soap Company led by Oumou Jallow who infuses local ingredients, including cassia, ginger, moringa, and mango, into their product; and

• the upcoming Trans-Atlantic Human Trading and The Gambia's Overflowing Significance exhibit that will replace the current panels on slavery. The focus will be on Gambia's role in the trading of peoples and how other significant events, such as the Haitian Revolution, impacted Africa's Smiling Coast. It is being created with the help of Gambians, Cubans, Haitians, Americans and others.

All of these efforts promote a broader story about trans-Atlantic history by highlighting that Gambians were not always victims but rather people who contributed significantly to shaping the world. It is with this energy and zest for victory that we anticipate the ongoing work of the Port of Harlem Gambian Education Partnership. Please follow this link to learn more about this organization: https://portofharlem.net/