NationHouse Marks 50 Years of Academics, Culture and ‘Re-Afrikanization’

By Sam P.K. Collins | The Washington Informer | Word In Black This& post& was originally published on& The Washington Informer (WIB) – Earlier this year, Necilia Jones’ youngest son, DeAngelo Kwabena Jones-Sharpe, wrapped up his studies at the independent African-centered school NationHouse with a graduation ceremony where he and another classmate wowed teachers, parents and community members with essays they wrote about the youths’ role in “nationbuilding.”  Decades ago, late NationHouse co-founder Nana Kwame Agyei Akoto defined nationbuilding (intentionally one word) as the liberation of African people through the dedication of resources and development of customs, values and institutions that explain their history, protect them in the present day, and help them shape a national identity outside of a hegemonic European paradigm.& Jones said those values compelled her to enroll her daughter, Destiny Nyala Sharpe, in NationHouse at the turn of the century.  “I was always in Sankofa Books, Blue Nile and supporting other African-centered organizations,” Jones said. “Because my children are Jamaican, they grew up with Rastafari. They know who they are and what they should be doing. You have that reinforcement at NationHouse with the intergenerational transmission and then your own self-determination and willpower.”& Necilia Jones’ and...