The Cookout: Reparations & Wealth Building | Part 1

Welcome to The Cookout, a Sankofa Sessions live conversation where culture, community, and conversation come together.

In Part 1, co-hosts Kofi Annan and comedian Mu Cuzzo lead a candid community discussion about reparations for Black Americans—what reparations should look like, who should receive them, what is owed, and how reparations connect to the larger struggle for economic justice and wealth building.

The Cookout is designed to feel exactly like its name: a space where we can come together, speak freely, disagree respectfully, laugh, learn, and have the conversations our community needs to have.

🔥 In this episode:
• The case for reparations
• What reparations could actually look like
• Who should qualify and who should pay
• The lasting economic impact of slavery and discrimination
• Reparations vs. broader economic policies
• Building Black wealth and economic power
• Different perspectives from our panel and community

Co-hosted by Kofi Annan & Mu Cuzzo

This is Part 1 of the conversation. Subscribe to Sankofa Sessions and turn on notifications so you don't miss Part 2 and future episodes of The Cookout.

Culture. Community. Conversation.

#TheCookout #SankofaSessions #Reparations #BlackReparations #BlackWealth #WealthBuilding #BlackEconomics #EconomicJustice #BlackCommunity #PetersburgVA

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Every conversation is a step toward collective liberation.

he Cookout: Reparations & Wealth Building | Part 2

The conversation continues at The Cookout, a Sankofa Sessions live experience bringing together culture, community, and conversation.

In Part 2, co-hosts Kofi Annan and comedian Mu Cuzzo shift the discussion from reparations to wealth building in the Black community.

What does it actually take to build wealth—not just individually, but across families and generations? The conversation explores the barriers that have historically limited Black wealth while also looking forward at what we can do today to strengthen our economic position.

From homeownership and entrepreneurship to investing, financial literacy, supporting Black-owned businesses, and passing assets to the next generation, the discussion gets into the opportunities—and challenges—of turning income into lasting wealth.

🔥 In this episode:
• Building generational wealth
• Homeownership and property ownership
• Entrepreneurship and Black-owned businesses
• Saving, investing, and financial literacy
• Keeping dollars circulating within our communities
• Moving from income to ownership
• Creating opportunities for the next generation
• The connection between economic power and community power

Co-hosted by Kofi Annan & Mu Cuzzo

If you watched Part 1 on reparations, this conversation takes the next step: Regardless of what happens with reparations, what can we do right now to build greater economic power for ourselves and future generations?

Subscribe to Sankofa Sessions for more episodes of The Cookout and conversations connecting the African Diaspora.

Culture. Community. Conversation.

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Every conversation is a step toward collective liberation.

Stories have always been more than entertainment in the African diaspora—they have been tools of survival, resistance, healing, and cultural preservation. From the griots of West Africa to modern poetry, theater, and spoken word, storytelling has carried the wisdom, struggles, triumphs, and identities of Black people across generations.

In this episode of Sankofa Sessions with Kofi and Kofi, we explore the enduring power of storytelling and why it remains vital to our communities today. Joining us are Charlene Riley, Chairwoman of the Blk Virginia Theatre Alliance, arts advocate, playwright, and community activist, and Khalil Houston, writer and spoken word artist whose work challenges, inspires, and amplifies the human experience.

Together, we discuss how stories preserve history, shape identity, fuel social movements, and connect generations across the diaspora. We also examine the role of artists, poets, and theater makers in ensuring that our narratives are told authentically and passed on to future generations.

Whether through the stage, the page, or the spoken word, our stories continue to remind us where we've been—and help guide us toward where we're going.

Join us for a powerful conversation about memory, culture, creativity, and the stories that continue to carry us forward.

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Every conversation is a step toward collective liberation.

In this episode of Sankofa Sessions with Kofi and Kofi, we sit down with urban agriculture advocate and food justice leader Duron Chavis for a powerful conversation about food, health, and survival in the Black community. From food deserts and chronic illness to urban farming and cultural healing, Duron breaks down how access to healthy food is tied to economics, race, history, and power. We also explore how communities can reclaim control through local food systems, education, and ownership. This is more than a conversation about diet—it’s a conversation about liberation.

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Every conversation is a step toward collective liberation.

Food is more than something you eat—it’s history, identity, and connection. In this episode of Sankofa Sessions, guest moderator Katina Moss sits down with Duron Chevis and Chef Tye Hall for Food is a Memory, a rich conversation about how cuisine carries the stories of the African diaspora across generations and borders. From ancestral roots to modern kitchens, they explore how flavors, ingredients, and traditions preserve culture, spark nostalgia, and keep heritage alive.

This episode goes beyond the plate, digging into the emotional and cultural power of food—how it connects us to where we come from and shapes where we’re going.

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Every conversation is a step toward collective liberation.

In this episode of Sankofa Sessions, Kofi Annan leads a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Yawende Austin, Professor Bobby, SegeBami, and Bill McGee in Unlearning the Divide. Together, they take a hard look at the systems, stories, and lived experiences that have shaped division across communities in the African diaspora and beyond. This isn’t surface-level talk—it's an honest, necessary dialogue about how separation is learned, internalized, and reinforced over time.

Each panelist brings a unique perspective, challenging assumptions and offering insight into what it really takes to move toward unity, understanding, and collective progress. This conversation pushes viewers to rethink what they’ve been taught and consider how we actively unlearn division in our own lives and communities.

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Every conversation is a step toward collective liberation.

This episode takes a hard look at colorism—one of the most persistent and uncomfortable issues within the Black community. Joined by DEI specialist Shareem Annan, who brings over 20 years of experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion work, the conversation digs into how skin tone has shaped identity, access, and perception both historically and today.

From beauty standards and media representation to workplace dynamics and personal relationships, we unpack the subtle—and not so subtle—ways colorism continues to show up in our lives. Shareem offers both professional insight and real-world perspective on how these biases are formed, reinforced, and, more importantly, how they can be challenged.

It’s an honest, necessary conversation about what it will take to confront colorism within our own community—and move toward something more unified, aware, and intentional.

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Every conversation is a step toward collective liberation.

This episode is just the two Kofis going all the way in on code-switching—no guest, no filter.

They break down what code-switching really is, when it starts, and why so many Black professionals feel like it’s the unspoken rule for survival. One side sees it as strategy—a necessary tool to navigate power, access opportunity, and move effectively across spaces. The other questions the cost: What are you giving up every time you adjust your voice, your tone, your presence?

From corporate boardrooms to everyday interactions, they unpack whether code-switching is intelligence in action—or a quiet form of cultural compromise. And more importantly: is this something we should accept, resist, or outgrow entirely?

If you’ve ever felt like you had to become a different version of yourself just to be heard, this conversation is going to hit.

Support the show

Every conversation is a step toward collective liberation.