On May 3, Sinclair will be hosting a Sankofa Kente Stole Ceremony from 4-7 p.m.
outside of Building 10. However, not many people know what the ceremony is even about.
The event, also referred to as a Kente Graduation Celebration or a Sankofa Ceremony, is a pre-
commencement ceremony for African-American students graduating in high school or college
where they are given a kente stole to wear over their gown during graduation.
While most stoles represent an achievement or their specific field of study, kente stoles display
the colorful patterns of West African Kente cloth.
Kente cloth originated centuries ago in what is now modern-day Ghana. The cloth made its way
to the African-American community in 1958 when Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah,
wore it during his visit with President Eisenhower. It holds value in the community as it
represents both their heritage and the strength required to overcome displacement.
The stole is primarily black, with stacked stripes of white, red, green, and yellow. Most stoles are
rarely blank, often having either the student’s graduating class year, a symbol, or an inspiring
quote stitched onto it.
The very first Kente Graduation Celebration was celebrated in 1993 at West Chester University
after four faculty members wanted to show appreciation to their African-American students and
how far they’ve come.
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The Sankofa Kente Stole Ceremony became a Sinclair tradition 23 years later, starting in 2016. It
would occur annually every year until 2020 where Covid-19 forced it to be postponed for two
years. This year’s ceremony will be the first one since 2019.
It is also important to remember that while the stole originates from African-American heritage,
it is not uncommon to find people of other ethnic backgrounds wearing the stoles themselves.
Videos of Sinclair’s previous Sankofa Kente Stole Ceremonies can be found on their Facebook.
Dion Johnson
Intern