The annual New Orleans MAAFA Commemoration is a community remembrance event, a moment to reckon with the horrors of the Transatlantic and Domestic Slave Trades, and a release from the chains of its legacy. MAAFA is a Kiswahili word meaning “horrific tragedy” and refers to the period known as The Middle Passage. This year’s event presented by Ashé Cultural Arts Center is on Saturday, July 6, 2023 at 7:00am, beginning at Congo Square (701 N Rampart St.)

This year’s theme is Radiant Rhythms–a celebration of the divine power of African drums. For centuries, the stories of Africa have been forged in rhythm by musical griots who pay tribute to the unwavering resolve, indomitable strength, and indelible history of our culture by touching hand, stick, or bone to an African drum.

MAAFA identifies historically-significant locations of New Orleans’ own history as a major slave market, such as Esplanade Avenue and The Tomb of the Unknown Slave in Tremé. In closing, we say the names of those enslaved and free, victims of tragic events, senseless violence, as well as all those who were, so that we might be.

All white attire is preferred. The local community and visitors are invited to attend this commemoration event of healing, testimony, and celebration of our ancestors, existence, and survival.