Letter to the Editor: For Café Sankofa, Common Council aid is needed
Café Sankofa provides the Southside community with wellness, food and community support. Our writers argue the Syracuse Common Council must forgive the nonprofit’s inherited debt to keep these essential services alive. Joe Zhao | Daily Orange Staff File
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Café Sankofa is a Black-owned nonprofit dedicated to helping Southside residents access wellness in all its forms.
The word “Sankofa” comes from the Tiwi language, meaning to go back and get. Café Sankofa directly serves those communities that were racially divided, aiming to allow them to come back from the unfair odds placed against them by the city.
From fitness classes and support groups to perinatal care and food drives, we serve as a critical hub for the Southside community. Our Food $en$e program, community garden, maternal health efforts and fitness classes provide resources that many residents would otherwise struggle to access.
But without support from the Syracuse Common Council, we may not be able to continue our work in the capacity our community needs us to.
When Café Sankofa secured our current building, the board unknowingly inherited a city tax debt, placing a heavy financial strain on our organization and limiting our ability to do critical work for our community. Now, this debt needs to be lifted off our shoulders, and only the Syracuse Common Council can help us. It has the power to forgive the debt that came with the building and ensure Café Sankofa continues going strong.
Café Sankofa’s impact is visible across our Southside community. In Café Sankofa’s school district, 52.6% of families receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, and in their census tract, 46.5% of residents live in poverty, more than 1.5 times the rate in Syracuse. Seventy-six percent of those in the census tract are Black.
It’s our city’s duty to keep supporting our local residents and stand by them.SeQuoia Kemp, Writer
With redlining in the 1950s, followed by the development of I-81 in the 1960s, Syracuse saw a geographical segregation. This left Southside Syracuse at a systemic disadvantage as a result of the government’s actions, as the rest of Syracuse moved into the 21st century.
Syracuse is now at another pivotal point in its history, a history characterized by repeatedly leaving the Southside community behind. My plea is this: As we look to the future, can we not forget our past? As the first Black mayor is in office, can we recognize the opportunity we have to not leave the community that voted for her behind once again?
During my time at Café Sankofa, I’ve seen people become able to make ends meet. I’ve seen people who once felt unsafe find a sense of security in our community. I’ve seen people discover strength in themselves they didn’t know they had. I’ve seen Café Sankofa change the lives of marginalized people, and I can’t bear the thought of them losing access to these programs or Café Sankofa losing the opportunity to expand them.
The Syracuse Common Council has never faced a case like this before. As development expands and political attention shifts to who could move into Syracuse, those who have always lived here are being overlooked. This isn’t just a case to brush aside — it’s the Common Council’s opportunity to take a stand and support its Southside residents through increasing prices, constant budget cuts, housing redevelopment and the impending stress on its residents.
It’s our city’s duty to keep supporting our local residents and stand by them.
Our neighbors on the Southside of Syracuse will find hope, solace, love and freedom in Café Sankofa. We hope you can, too.
– SeQuoia Kemp, President of Café Sankofa
This letter was submitted by Jack Spies, Ruth Brisson and SeQuoia Kemp. They can be reached at jsspies@syr.edu, rabrisso@syr.edu and sankofacafe5@gmail.com.
