The term ‘MAAFA’ (pronounced
MA-AH’-FA) is a
Kiswahili word that gives definition
to the catastrophic event experienced by
millions of African people during the
Transatlantic Slave Trade or Middle Passage
Journey from freedom in Africa to bondage in
the New World. ‘MAAFA’ also
means great disaster, the great suffering, and
the great catastrophe. Our Jewish brothers and
sisters have coined their word, Holocaust that
is theirs. Now we are blessed to coin our word
that talks about our experience and the word
is ‘MAAFA.’ It is our
contention that in order for the
African-American family to engage in a
liberation process, it must face the trauma
and consequences of its bondage in America.
The journey began in 1994, Dr. Johnny Ray
Youngblood, Senior Pastor of the St. Paul
Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New
York, provided the leadership and inspiration
that gave birth to the first annual
commemoration of the ‘MAAFA’
sponsored by an African-American congregation.
The commemorative efforts on the part of the
church begins as a combination of spiritual
ritual, transformative theatre and educational
workshops that help African-American to
revisit this horror experienced by their
ancestors. The production has also been
performed in Chicago through the leadership of
world-renowned teacher and preacher, Dr.
Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.
2004 marked the 10th anniversary of
the commemoration of the ‘MAAFA’
and know that Dr. Youngblood, also a
world-renowned leader, has passed the legacy
and the torch to Dr. Anthony L. Bennett and
the People of The Mount Aery Baptist Church.
Audiences near and far can experience the
MAAFA in Connecticut. Dr.
Youngblood coined the phrase and reminds us, “The
Way Out is Back Through.”
The MAAFA Production is
historical drama at its best. It brings to the
American public, a story that places the
history of a nation in its truest perspective,
and offers an opportunity for all
people to understand the nature of the
oppression visited on generations of
African-Americans in this country.
Everyone who experiences the MAAFA
will be educated by our history, moved by the
music and dramatic reflections and reminded of
the hope! The ‘MAAFA Influence Production’ is
a local production, with nationwide appeal to
be proud of, with local residents displaying a
professional presentation.
The MAAFA is an
EXPERIENCE – ‘NOT’ a play. The MAAFA
is a professional psychodrama taking a look at
the ‘Pain of the Past’ and how that pain
directly affects our communities, even today.
In November
2014 Mount Aery Baptist Church and the Mount
Aery Development Corporation celebrates the
Maafa production as we presented The
MAAFA Influence 2014 “The
Journey of Shoes.”
This year’s MAAFA Influence was written and
directed by Mount Aery’s own Rev. Ina Alisa
Anderson, (a long time resident of Bridgeport)
and the entire casts are Mount Aery disciples
from the greater Bridgeport Community and
throughout Connecticut and New York. This
production, as expected, was no less than
excellent! To this end, we thank all Community /
Business leaders and residents throughout our
city, state and even the country that joined us in
prayer, fasting and a strengthened
relationship with God which enable us to
provide the community with another
unforgettable experience.
Through our very first MAAFA
Production, hundreds of lives have been
transformed. We have seen an increase in
church participation and a better
understanding of life’s challenges. The
MAAFA Production’ is a means
of rebuilding a people, through education and
a healing journey. We will continue to provide
ongoing sessions to discuss the transformation
taking place in hundreds of lives. And we will
also examine ways in which our ‘MAAFA’
experience continues to affect the cast, crew
and those who are open while witnessing our
production.
|
|
|
