In the heart of Syracuse's South Side, located at 2323 South Salina Street, is Café Sankofa Cooperative.

What You Need To Know

  • Cafe Sankofa is a wellness Cooperative on Syracuse's Southside.
  • They offer yoga, a farmers market, virtual programs.
  • Freedom Campaign asking for pledges to help pay off the mortgage.
  • Sankofa means go back and get what's yours.
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"We focus on bringing initiatives relative to health and wellness,” said Board President Marcelle Haddix. She explained, "We focus on food insecurity, we focus on mental health, physical health, so we offer programming, everything from yoga to food demonstrations to our Farmer's Market which is happening on Thursday every week."

The name Sankofa has significance. Haddix said it means, "Go back and get what's yours and so it is focusing on reclaiming, really restoring the community but reclaiming what is here for us and by us."

The meaning is fitting for an effort launched on Juneteenth called the Freedom Campaign where they're asking for the community to make pledges to help them pay off their mortgage.

"We want to make sure that this building and this space stays here in the community," said Haddix

It is especially with development happening along South Salina Street near downtown and whatever the future holds for Interstate 81, which is near Cafe Sankofa.

"We can imagine that, depending on how things flow, traffic will be different, we will begin to get more people that will travel through Salina Street,” Haddix added, “We want Cafe Sankofa to be very visible and very prominent and space that people feel they can come stop through."

Haddix said support hasn't just come through monetary donations, but by people volunteering their time; which is just as important to ensure Cafe Sankofa remains here for generations to come.

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