The Akata Journey Pt.1 | Race & Religion

I was on a mission to bridge the gap between Africans and African Americas. The passion for my people, both of them, has always been there. However, the mission started in college as a project. It evolved from a student project, a discontinued docu-series, and a scripted short film, eventually becoming a podcast. You see, I was determined to tell this story. Because “I am” this story, but I now know more than ever before, that it doesn't stop with me. Hi, my name is Iyore Odighizuwa-Jackson. My mother is African American with Southern roots, and my father is Nigerian, with chiefdom in his bloodline. When my father passed away in 2023, this journey stopped cold turkey. The pain of losing him was unbearable, unfair, and unresolved. So I just stopped.

The journey I'm referring to is connected to the word ‘Akata’. What does it mean? Who uses it? Should we still use it? And why the heck do I care so much?! Well, I had a theory about it, the word, akata. I could be totally wrong but I actually think I'm right about this theory. Because I am a filmmaker and video producer, I felt the need to share my theory in video form, which will still happen, but I also believe in timeliness. So for now, I'm writing here. Maybe I wasn't supposed to drop the ball and should have kept going on the journey. The thing is, losing my dad the way we did took me by surprise and I was shocked by my own feelings at the same time. While I did stop cold turkey, I also picked up another baton and started running.

After experiencing what I faced spiritually during that time, I was reminded of the creator's power, HIS unchanging hand, the one who created all of us, who loves us so deeply, we can't even fully grasp it. With a similar genre of observing Black culture and Black Communities, I documented the strange and spiritual process of my fathers funeral. I sat with a life coach whom I've known for some years, bold and scared at the same time, and I exposed some of the revelations I received during that time. And because of, not just the pain, but the love I experienced at that time, I knew I needed to make a hard left in my journey.

So I'm thinking this might be a good time to pick up both batons, and continue running this race. 

In a perfect world, I would have the funding to create this documentary, as I discover and uncover my theory of the word akata and if I have the true meaning correct. I would pitch it to PBS or the great Dr. Henry Gates. I would hire historians and the correct experts who can speak about the time period and the information I found that led me to draw to my conclusions. I’ve attempted to do this already, having spoken with a dear friend of mine who I look up to and used to work with, who happens to be an amazing orator and African American historian. I sat down with her and spoke with her about my theory and she shared her feedback. I may share that video recorded conversation one day, but for now I feel it best for the sake of time to write it out. So here it is. 18 years later, my theory on the word.