Hi,

I’m Runako Celina, and I’m building Rerooted. 

Rerooted is a website and video platform that combines rigorous journalism and genealogy - to tell the lesser known stories of people of African heritage the world throughout.

Stories that matter most to Black communities - even if we don't yet know the entirety of why. 

Stay with me here. Rooted starts with a simple thesis. 

If we learned about news primarily through the lens of its proximity to us, would we care about it more. 

At a time when more and more of us are turning away from the news? 

At a time when black audiences feel unrepresented by mainstream news offerings ?

At a time when TikTok is the primary news source for many bringing the corners of the world closer together than ever? 

Could Nigerians, Liberians, Puerto Ricans, Haitians, African-Americans forge community and a sense of investment in eachothers’ news - through a telling of it that highlights their interconnectedness. 

So, would say an African-American with family roots in the Deep south, develop an interest in the affairs of Grenada - because through our platform and our approach to news, they’ve learnt that a branch of their family may have come to the US via the island. 

Or, would a Nigerian, aware of their countries present struggles in its grain industry, feel an affinity towards Jamaica - once knowing the bread of the Nigerian nation - agege bread - was brought to the country by an afro-Jamaican who settled there? 

I believe I know the answer to questions like these because since building my family tree and finding ancestors from Africa, to the Caribbean, to the US south, to Asia just like this - I’ve been invested in what’s happening in all of these places.  Rooted is my effort at equipping others in my community with the tools  to do the same.