{"id":43162,"date":"2019-09-12T11:58:39","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T15:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=43162"},"modified":"2020-08-25T13:53:23","modified_gmt":"2020-08-25T17:53:23","slug":"cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/","title":{"rendered":"CJP grad&#8217;s &#8216;Ghana, remember me&#8217; performance connects different identities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whsv.com\/templates\/2015_Sub_Video_Share?contentObj=560087301\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Pain can be a bridge to peace, vulnerability a path to strength \u2014 at least that is the message <strong>Talibah Aquil <\/strong>hopes audience members take with them after her performance of \u201cGhana, Remember Me\u2026\u201d tonight [9\/12\/2019].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an 草莓社区 Center for Justice and and Peacebuilding alumna and adjunct faculty member, Aquil has dedicated much of her life to discovering and connecting her identity with people from the African diaspora. Her presentation about being a bridge between worlds will take place today at EMU\u2019s Main Stage Theater beginning at 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"> \u201cI\u2019m a bridge between America and I\u2019m a bridge between Africa. We all are bridge builders. We all are connectors and we all have the power to share our stories and to be storytellers.\u201d  \u2014Talibah Aquil<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>With her background as an undergraduate theater major at Howard University, it only made sense for Aquil to share her capstone presentation through a medley of song, dance and imagery. Now, Aquil returns to the stage with her story of journeying to Ghana for the \u201cYear of Return\u201d to create a safe and welcoming space of healing and growth for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so vulnerable and in my vulnerability, I\u2019m hoping that it gives other people permission to be vulnerable. I think there\u2019s something contagious and there\u2019s something so powerful about seeing someone make a mistake or hearing someone say, \u2018This is hard\u2019 or hearing someone say, \u2018I\u2019m imperfect,\u2019\u201d Aquil said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year marks the 400th anniversary since enslaved Africans first arrived in Virginia. Identity for anyone is a difficult topic to navigate, but for many people of African descent, identity is an impossible mystery that was stolen centuries ago in the slave trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eliza Hoover, a Harrisonburg resident, witnessed Aquil\u2019s original presentation about traveling to Ghana and reconnecting with her ancestral roots. Hoover has actively reached out to the community to ensure people who struggle with identity and injustice know to attend and, through attendance, find some healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe all have identity problems, but for African-Americans in this community \u2014 for them to be able to hear someone who\u2019s struggled with their identity problems \u2014 the ones who were there were in tears and in joy,\u201d Hoover said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite being largely based on Aquil\u2019s personal experience and lessons from Ghana, the performance also focuses on encouraging others to embark on a discovery of ancestry and identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Janelle Myers-Benner<\/strong>, academic program coordinator for CJP, was also present for Aquil\u2019s first performance and was so moved by the presentation that she has voluntarily tackled the logistics behind bringing tonight\u2019s show to life. Myers-Benner said it is a captivating experience that will leave audience members inspired to start their own journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI got so engrossed in the reflections and my own thoughts connected to it,\u201d Myers-Benner said. \u201cShe creates a very powerful space for everyone to think about kind of what their heritage is and what their history is and who their ancestors are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aquil is currently co-teaching a class at EMU called reimagining identity that was birthed from her capstone assignment. The fall course works to help others see the beauty in finding their ancestral roots rather than be weighed down by the sadness that comes from that stolen culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy two years in my master\u2019s program actually destroyed me. It broke me down because I was in spaces where I\u2019m just hearing negative stories and narratives of people of color and things that we experience in the world,\u201d Aquil said. \u201cThere\u2019s so much more to us. There\u2019s so much more to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the semester ends, Aquil will return to Ghana again with the Peace Corps in January and work on a docu-series titled \u201cWe Are Magic.\u201d The name comes from the mantra Aquil used to ground and empower herself whenever she felt overwhelmed. The docu-series will be on YouTube and follow Aquil\u2019s travels throughout Africa as she builds a bridge between the two cultures and her two identities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a bridge between America and I\u2019m a bridge between Africa,\u201d Aquil said. \u201cWe all are bridge builders. We all are connectors and we all have the power to share our stories and to be storytellers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tonight\u2019s performance is free to attend and will have a 60-minute talk back afterward so the crowd can breathe and share their takeaways from the show. CJP students will facilitate the conversation, which is held in a safe and trauma-sensitive space. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pain can be a bridge to peace, vulnerability a path to strength \u2014 at least that is the message Talibah Aquil hopes audience members take with them after her performance <a href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"more-link\">... read more <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">about CJP grad&#8217;s &#8216;Ghana, remember me&#8217; performance connects different identities<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,7931,12503,5861,17562,12537],"tags":[6795],"feature":[17424],"class_list":["post-43162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-arts","category-cjp","category-conferences-and-events","category-digest","category-star","tag-diversity","feature-featured-graduate"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>CJP grad&#039;s &#039;Ghana, remember me&#039; performance connects different identities - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CJP grad&#039;s &#039;Ghana, remember me&#039; performance connects different identities - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pain can be a bridge to peace, vulnerability a path to strength \u2014 at least that is the message Talibah Aquil hopes audience members take with them after her performance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-12T15:58:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-25T17:53:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/09\/unnamed.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/\",\"name\":\"CJP grad's 'Ghana, remember me' performance connects different identities - EMU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/09\/unnamed.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-12T15:58:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-25T17:53:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/09\/unnamed.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/09\/unnamed.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CJP grad&#8217;s &#8216;Ghana, remember me&#8217; performance connects different identities\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\",\"name\":\"EMU News\",\"description\":\"News from the 草莓社区 community.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CJP grad's 'Ghana, remember me' performance connects different identities - EMU News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"CJP grad's 'Ghana, remember me' performance connects different identities - EMU News","og_description":"Pain can be a bridge to peace, vulnerability a path to strength \u2014 at least that is the message Talibah Aquil hopes audience members take with them after her performance","og_url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/","og_site_name":"EMU News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite","article_published_time":"2019-09-12T15:58:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-08-25T17:53:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/09\/unnamed.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EMU_News","twitter_site":"@EMU_News","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/","name":"CJP grad's 'Ghana, remember me' performance connects different identities - EMU News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/09\/unnamed.jpg","datePublished":"2019-09-12T15:58:39+00:00","dateModified":"2020-08-25T17:53:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/09\/unnamed.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2019\/09\/unnamed.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/cjp-grads-ghana-remember-me-performance-connects-different-identities\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CJP grad&#8217;s &#8216;Ghana, remember me&#8217; performance connects different identities"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/","name":"EMU News","description":"News from the 草莓社区 community.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245","name":"admin","sameAs":["http:\/\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43162"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43194,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43162\/revisions\/43194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43162"},{"taxonomy":"feature","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature?post=43162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}