Pan Africana in Nine Boxes Exhibition

Student Zhu Yongjin admires the Pan Africana in Nine Boxes Display

As part of Essex County College’s celebration of February as Black History Month, there is a special exhibition on the 2nd Floor, Pan Africana in Nine Boxes.  The exhibition was curated by Dr. Akil Khalfani, Director of the College’s Africana Institute and professor of Sociology and Africana Studies.

Dr. Khalfani said the exhibition, on display throughout February and March, contains artifacts from the African Continent and the Diaspora. He added that visitors will see the weaving of African culture through artifacts ranging from northern to southern Africa, and from West Africa to Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, and the United States.

He has collected African and Diaspora art and artifacts world-wide for more than 30 years. The exhibited items come from his personal collection and those of the Africana Institute.

The exhibition includes:

  1.  Ndebele Doll Village – South Africa
  2. Mancala Board Games – Ghana and beyond
  3. Nigerian Artifacts – Bronze Ife Head, Warrior, and Ibeji 
  4. Jamaican Vibrations – drum and statues
  5. Instruments of African & African Diaspora traditions
  6. From the Sweet Grass of South Carolina to the Djembe in Ghana
  7. Cape Town to Cairo statues and Malachite stone in route
  8. Haiti, Ghana, Nigeria, Maasai artifacts
  9. Kemetic (Egyptian) artifacts including Rosetta Stone, Tutankhamun Statue & Carafe

Dr. Khalfani will offer a live virtual tour of the Africana Institute on Friday, February 25 at 6 p.m. This tour will include a viewing of and commentary on the Pan Africana in Nine Boxes exhibition.

Register at: https://essex-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJckdu2qpz4sGNHK39VsTx4Jtl9I4oqAIILD