Robert Whiting and The Significance of the African New Year Celebration

Honoring the African New Year: A Celebration of Culture, Continuity, and Community Leadership

Each year in June, the African American Cultural Center & Museum (AACS) of Palm Coast hosts a deeply meaningful African New Year Celebration, inviting the community to honor ancestral traditions, reconnect with African heritage, and mark the natural rhythms of renewal and rebirth.

The celebration begins with a Sunrise Ceremony at Jungle Hut Beach, where participants don white attire and gather at the water’s edge to reflect, give thanks, and set intentions for the coming year. This sacred ritual—rooted in traditional African cosmology—recognizes the summer solstice as a time of spiritual clarity, abundance, and transformation.

Following the beach ceremony, the festivities continue at the AACS museum with cultural presentations, a libation ceremony, traditional drumming, dance performances, and refreshments. It is a joyful yet reverent occasion, meant to educate, uplift, and empower.

At the center of this effort is Robert Whiting, Chair of the AACS Education Committee. A passionate educator and cultural advocate, Whiting has been instrumental in preserving and elevating this celebration as a tool for community engagement and historical awareness. Under his leadership, the AACS African New Year event has evolved into an inter-generational experience that bridges the past and the present, emphasizing the importance of African-centered knowledge and cultural pride.

“Understanding the African New Year helps us reconnect with who we are and where we come from,” Whiting says. “It’s not just about looking back—it’s about moving forward with purpose.”

The African New Year Celebration reflects AACS’s mission to educate, inspire, and unite. Through the stewardship of leaders like AACS President, Joseph T. Jones, the celebration continues to grow—serving as both a cultural milestone and a call to collective action.

Robert Whiting is a native of Washington, DC. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of the District of Columbia with a degree in Business Administration and received an MBA with a concentration in Finance and Investments from George Washington University.

Mr. Whiting earned a black belt in karate and was a certified martial arts instructor. He is also an accomplished musician and has a jazz band.

Mr. Whiting worked most of his career in the federal government in several agencies such as the General Accounting Office, Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and various agencies within the Department of Agriculture. He rose to the rank of Senior Executive and retired from the government in 2001.

After Mr. Whiting retired from the federal government, he worked in the private sector ascending to the rank of a Vice President. He retired again in 2005.

For over 40 years, Mr. Whiting has conducted research on Africa, particularly Nile Valley Civilizations. Mr. Whiting studied the Medu Neter (Egyptian Hieroglyphs) under the tutelage of Ankh Mi Ra, who wrote a grammar book on this ancient African language. In addition, Mr. Whiting has “sat at the feet” of some of the world’s most preeminent African scholars and went on a study tour to Kemet (Egypt) with Dr. Charles Finch, an internationally renowned Nile Valley Civilization scholar and lecturer.

Mr. Whiting has lectured in a variety of settings including universities, schools, churches, and community groups along the East Coast of the United States and in Africa.

I recently conducted an interview with Robert Whiting to deepen my knowledge of Africa.

The first solar calendar was developed by Africans approximately 4,240/41 BCE (Before Common Era) and was aligned with the natural flow of the solar year in the Northern Hemisphere. The calendar used in most parts of the world today was developed in Africa, copied and modified by the Romans.

The African American Cultural Center and Museum of Palm Coast is hosting a celebration of the original African New Year on June 21, 2025, at 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. For more information visit www.aacspalmcoast.org.

Melba McCarty and Robert Whiting provided the voice track for the AACS African New Year celebration video. (Photo courtesy Jake Montgomery, Observer Media Group Inc.)