Jenny Blair
Sister Sankofa, also known as Shanda Williams, died unexpectedly in late January at the age of 50. Sankofa was a self-described “changemaker, reparations activist, equity strategist, and BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] community advocate,” working on behalf of causes such as BIPOC homeownership, financial wellness, and healing from trauma. She was also an entrepreneur, singer, actress, and one-time columnist for The Bridge.
Sankofa, a Montpelierite, worked for change with a host of Vermont groups in addition to running her communications and marketing business. She was active in the Vermont Professionals of Color Network, the Vermont Liberation Ecosystem, and Community Resilience Organizations (CROs) and she was a member of the Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She served on the Hunger Mountain Co-op JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) Committee and the Center for Crime Victim Services Advisory Council, as well as founding the Central Vermont BIPOC Advisory Group.
As a believer in “bringing people together through the power of love, song, word, and healing,” as one bio put it, Sankofa sang with the Montpelier Community Gospel Choir and the Green Mountain Gospel Choir and performed with Lost Nation Theater and Unadilla Theatre.
In Montpelier, Sankofa organized and facilitated a BIPOC reading group based on the book “My Grandmother’s Hands” at downtown Montpelier’s The Everything Space. Her July 10, 2024 commentary in The Bridge addressed reparations and the importance of time healing in nature. This year she was to have become a regular columnist with The Bridge.
Originally from Hartford, Conn., Sankofa worked for 15 years in the banking and insurance industries. She moved to Vermont in 2017. “Sankofa” is a word in Ghana’s Twi language that means “to go back and get.” It refers to learning from the past for the sake of the future.
Reached by phone Sunday, three of Sankofa’s colleagues reflected on the loss.
“She would ask us to step into roles … She would say ‘This thing needs to happen and you’re going to lead it,” recalled Abbi Jaffe, who co-curates The Everything Space. “She just made space for the connections that needed to happen and asked us to, ‘Once you know better, do better.’ … She wanted to stomp out racism.”
“She called herself a BIPOC community advocate and a reparations activist, talking about material repair for the harm caused due to the slave trade and slavery in the US,” said Jessica Laporte, a CROs co-director. “She was a really proud Black woman and really celebrated her Blackness. … I have been deeply impacted by her really strong vision for healing and for equity.”
“Her key essence … was really about being a bridge and being a supporter of other people. She was a champion for helping others and when she saw that somebody needed something, she would jump right in,” said Anna Adachi-Mejia, recalling a time when Sankofa welcomed a person who had lost their housing into her own home. “She was one of those people who truly, truly makes the world a better place. … We were very fortunate that she was here when she was.”
