Bard College Berlin News
Looking to “ancestral ways of knowing”: Dr. Cassandra Ellerbe applies her expertise in social justice, decolonial resistance, and remembrance work in Germany
On March 14th, Ellerbe was invited by The New Institute in Hamburg, Germany to lead a workshop as part of the program Black Feminism and the Polycrisis. The workshop, titled Black Feminism & Ancestral Ways of Knowing, evolved from Ellerbe's current research. She examines African diasporic and shamanic practices such as Kemetic Yoga/Smai Tawi, along with aspects of the system of Ifá among a select group of Black diasporic feminists located in Berlin. Ellerbe asserts that these practices can be considered decolonial forms of resistance.
“Black/African diasporic feminists/womanists (meaning all that identify as such) have often looked to spirituality and ancestral ways of knowing for their work, sustenance, and empowerment while navigating the societal complexities and challenges brought about by the history of oppression,” Ellerbe explains. “Here, spirituality references the recognition of the existence of ‘something or a force’ that extends beyond our human perception, and speaks to and acknowledges the divinity within us all.”
In addition, on March 19th, Ellerbe served as a panel speaker on the topic of "Erinnerungsarbeit" (remembrance work) and Black German history in the context of the documentary film Echoes of Remembrance. The event was organized by ISD (Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland) and ADEFRA Roots (Schwarze Frauen in Deutschland) in cooperation with the Rosa Luxemburg-Stiftung.
Echoes of Remembrance follows the June 2023 trip of sixteen young people from the "Remembering" working group at the Theodor-Heuss-Gemeinschaftsschule in Berlin as they traveled to Oklahoma, USA. The students explored the US culture of remembrance of the Holocaust and Black History and expanded their view of their own remembrance work in Germany. In the panel following the film screening, Ellerbe discussed how the topics of the film are dealt with in her Bard College Berlin course Social Justice & the Body, which explores and critically examines social justice movements from a body-centered perspective.
As seen through both Black Feminism & Ancestral Ways of Knowing and Echoes of Remembrance, Ellerbe’s research in decolonialism, remembrance, and diasporic practices provides a valuable lens through which to view a variety of topics within anthropology and social justice.
Post Date: 04-03-2024