Mali Yetu in Ochos Rios, Jamaica (1992)

Each year’s program is built around a theme. All the classes and field trips for a particular year relate to that year’s central theme. In the fall of the previous year, parents and teachers begin research on the next year’s theme. The children study each theme for five weeks in the various classes (see enclosed schedule). During the fourth week the children are taken on an extended field trip related to the theme. The following is a list of our themes and extended field trips since 1991.

Mali Yetu at the home of abolitionist John Parker in southern Ohio (2009)

Upcoming themes: 2010 African Heritage (Senegal & The Gambia), 2011: To be decided

Year	Theme	Field Trip
1991	Resistance to Slavery	Detroit, MI & Ontario Canada
1992	The African Diaspora	Kingston, Jamaica
1993	The Great Migration North	Nashville, TN & Tuskegee, AL
1994	Our African Heritage	Washington, DC
1995	Our Contemporary African Family	Accra, Ghana
1996	Resistance to Slavery	Cuyahoga Valley National Park
1997	The Migration West	Boley, Tulsa & Langston, OK
1998	The Great Migration North	Chicago, IL & Jackson, MS
1999	The African Diaspora	Beaufort, Charleston & Oyotunji, SC
2000	Our African Heritage	Dar es Salaam & Marangu, Tanzania
2001	The Harlem Renaissance	New York, NY
2002	Resistance to Slavery	Detroit MI & Ontario Canada
2003	The Civil Rights Movement	Birmingham & Montgomery, AL
2004	Our African Heritage	Washington, DC
2005	The African Diaspora	Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
2006	Our Contemporary Heritage	Chicago, IL
2007	The Great Migration North	Baltimore, MD
2008	The Migration West	Los Angeles
2009	Resistance to Slavery	Southern Ohio & Northern Kentucky

 

Mali Yetu at the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, IL (2006)

Mali Yetu believes that the children should be aware of their environment and the various riches that it possesses. Consequently, field trips are an integral part of the program. For instance in 1991 when the central theme was “Resistance to Slavery,” the planned local field trips included visiting the Harriet Tubman museum in Cleveland and visiting key sites along the underground railroad in Northeast Ohio. The overnight field trip that year was to Detroit, Michigan to visit the African American History Museum and to visit sites in Canada settled by African Americans fleeing slavery in the United States. In 1996 the children went on an extended camping and survival course where they replicated the difficulties encountered by the slaves on their journey to freedom. For instance, they learned how to read the stars and find their way at night without a flashlight. In 2002 we revisited this theme and again traveled to Detroit, Michigan and Ontario Canada. An important objective of the “Resistance to Slavery” theme is to remove the shame that many African Americans have for being descendants of slaves. Even in bondage the dignity of these former slaves is apparent.

On the road...

In 1998 the children studied about the great migration of thousands of southern rural African Americans into the norther urban centers from the 1920s to the 1950s. In the geography class, for instance, they studied about the various routes taken and the role played by the railroads in helping to determine those patterns. It is no coincidence that many Clevelanders come from Alabama. The former Louisville - Nashville line (L&N) brought Blacks from Alabama to Nashville, Louisville and Cincinnati. Secondary waves brought them to Cleveland, just as the Illinois Gulf line brought Mississippians to Chicago. The children also did individual family trees showing the migration patterns of their particular family. For the extended field trip, the students actually took a train ride to Mississippi and visited Piney Woods Country School where they had the opportunity to experience southern rural life. In 2007 we will revisit this important theme when we look at the migration pattern from the Carolinas up the east coast.

To complement our studies about life in the United States, the students also study about Africans in Africa and the diaspora. In 1992 we visited Kingston, Jamaica and in 1995 the children went to Ghana where they met their Ghanaian pen pals. In 2000 the children visited our sister school (Kotela Primary School) in Tanzania. The preparations for the 2000 trip included studying Swahili and becoming acquainted with several local Tanzanians. The 2005 theme is “The African Diaspora” and since Brazil has the largest African diaspora in the world, the decision was made to visit Brazil. The students began studying Portuguese and capoeira during the 2004 and the 2005 programs in preparation for their trip to Brazil during the summer of 2005. Our next international trip will be in 2010. Parents are trying to decide between Tanzania, Senegal or Mexico. As soon as a decision is made, a small group of parents and/or teachers will visit the site in preparation for the children’s visit in 2010.

Student Leader, Brent, trying to climb a palm tree during Mali Yetu's trip to Tanzania (2000)

By studying both local and international African communities, we hope to encourage the development of cross-cultural friendships. We do not wish for the next generations of Africans (in America, the diaspora and on the Continent) to be strangers to each other.

An important objective of Mali Yetu is to raise the global consciousness of the children. They are an African people, and as such they need to realize that neither they nor their struggles are unique. As their consciousness expands, so will their dreams and vision. For these children to be able to conceptualize fresh alternatives when it comes their time to lead, necessitates that their experiences not be limited to the ordinary, but that they be enriched with new places, people and ideas.

 

Mali Yetu will be hosting the play "Ain't Misbehaving"

Location: Bolton Theatre of the Cleveland Playhouse, 8500 Euclid Ave
Time: 6:45 p.m. reception, play starts at 8:00 p.m.
Donation: $55.00
Date: Saturday, February 6, 2010

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