The Official Royal House of Sori® Announces the Bicentennial Commemorative Coin and The Reverence 2028 Global Heritage Tour
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Washington, D.C. — June 20, 2026
Two hundred years ago, Prince Abdulrahman Ibrahima Ibn Sori walked free for the first time in four decades. Today, The Official Royal House of Sori® is announcing two ways the world will mark that anniversary: a bicentennial commemorative coin, and "The Reverence 2028: The Walking in the Footsteps of a Prince International Heritage Tour."
The Journey Behind the Bicentennial
Prince Abdulrahman Ibrahima Ibn Sori was born into nobility in Timbuktu and spent forty years enslaved in Natchez, Mississippi, before his freedom, and that of his wife Isabella, was secured in 1828 through the combined efforts of Secretary of State Henry Clay, the Sultan of Morocco, and President John Quincy Adams. Their nine children were not part of that emancipation.
With support from Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Francis Scott Key, the Prince toured the northeastern United States to raise funds toward freeing his children before he and Isabella sailed for Monrovia, Liberia, where he died in 1829, never having seen any of his nine children released from bondage.
2028 marks 200 years since that emancipation, and The Reverence 2028 is built to honor not only the Prince's journey, but the estimated 1.8 million Africans who died during the Middle Passage of the transatlantic slave trade, a figure drawn from the SlaveVoyages Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database and cited by the National Geographic Society.
The Reverence 2028 Tour
Set to launch in 2027 ahead of the 2028 bicentennial, the tour is hosted by The Official Royal House of Sori® in partnership with the Prince Ibrahima and Isabella Freedom Foundation (PIIFF). Confirmed stops currently include:
Sierra Leone
Senegal
Ivory Coast
Egypt
Morocco
Turkey
Spain
The United Arab Emirates
Liberia
And across the United States: Dallas, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and Chicago.
Each host country will lead its own educational and community programming, built to broaden public understanding of African nobility and culture before colonialism. Organizers believe it is the first commemorative tour of its kind ever organized in honor of an African royal.
Dr. Artemus Gaye, scholar, historian, and a documented descendant of the Prince, points to a double standard in how African royal lineages are treated: descendants of African royal houses are often asked to defend their heritage and titles in ways European royal families rarely are, even though Africa's pre-colonial history is just as rich.
HRH Princess Karen W.S. Brengettsy-Chatman, President of The Official Royal House of Sori®, connects the tour directly to her ancestor's unfinished journey: her ancestorial grandfather "crossed the Atlantic twice, once in chains and once in freedom," and died without seeing any of his nine children freed. The Reverence 2028, she says, carries that journey forward, safeguarding his legacy as a man born into nobility.
The Bicentennial Commemorative Coin
The coin's design carries the Prince's full story in its imagery:
The Nine Lights represent the nine children he was forced to leave behind.
The Mississippi River traces Natchez, where he was enslaved for forty years and where his descendants remain rooted today.
The ship Harriet carried him to freedom in Monrovia, Liberia, completing a journey that began in Timbuktu, where he was born.
The coin is inscribed "Emancipated in 1828" and carries the House of Sori motto: "It is often said it takes a village, but we say it takes belief." Further details on availability and distribution will be announced in the coming months.
How to Get Involved
The Official Royal House of Sori® is inviting partners, hosts, and supporters to take part in The Reverence 2028. To learn how your city, organization, or community can participate, reach out to:
The Official Royal House of Sori® is led by HRH Princess Karen W.S. Brengettsy-Chatman, a direct lineal descendant of Prince Abdulrahman Ibrahima Ibn Sori. She also chairs The Root Nine Foundation and Institute, a 501(c)(3) organization, and serves as Academic Society Founding Partner of the National Institute for the Legacy and Cultural Preservation of Prince Abdulrahman Ibrahima Ibn Sori.
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