Asia Rainey



Grandmother said I was her baby

Said I was sweet-beautiful like brown sugar

Said I was smart like old eyes and thick trees

Said she would hug me as long as she could

Said everybody won’t know how

Said I better move like water

Because ain’t nothing staying still


- Excerpt from the Poem


About Sankofa:


"Sankofa is a Swahili word which means 'return and get it.' The painting wasn't modeled from a photograph. I just wanted the face to come from where it needed to. When I was done, I realized that it was a blending of myself, my mother Katherine, and my grandmother. This chapter speaks to their memory, and other parts of my life that it is necessary I go back and learn from. I understand where I am standing when I can map the road that got me here."