Ota Benga Memorial Program

THE INTERNATIONAL OTA BENGA MEMORIAL COMMITTEE P-R-E-S-S R-E-L-E-A-S-E (3-2024) The International Ota Benga Memorial Committee is pleased to announce its 3rd Annual Ota Benga Memorial Program which will take place at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, 2024, at Jackson Street United Methodist Church located at 901 Jackson Street, Lynchburg, VA 24504.

Ota Benga is the man from colonial Congo who is known worldwide as, “The Pygmy in the Zoo.” Under the leadership of Ann van de Graaf, the International Ota Benga Memorial Committee has been keeping the memory of Ota Benga alive since 2005. This memorial program is the latest installment in the Committee’s work. The 3rd Annual Memorial Program, “We Remember Ota Benga,” will be an educational, historical, and cultural experience. Program highlights include: • Comments from Her Excellence Marie-Helene Matthey Boo Lowumba, Ambassador Extraordinaire and Plenipotentiary for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. • A keynote address by Dr. Didier Gondola, a highly acclaimed Professor of History from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Gondola is arguably the leading international expert on how to study the origins and restitution of African art that was acquired during the colonial period and that is now held in museum collections around the world. Dr. Gondola has just co-authored a book on this cutting-edge topic. He has also just recently returned from co-curating an exhibition of African art in Belgium at the Tervuren Museum which holds over 84,000 pieces of Congolese art and artifacts. • An unforgettable dramatic performance, a deeply moving prose reading, the undeniable virtuosity of the Kuumba Dance Ensemble, and other celebrations in memory of Ota Benga.

The program is free and open to the public. Seating will be available on a first- come, first-served basis. For more information, call or text Dr. Myra Gordon, Committee Co-Chair and International Spokesperson at 785-341-3591 or email: otabengaic@gmail.com