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Books by Miriam DeCosta-Willis
Daughters of the Diaspora: Afra-Hispanic Writers
(2003 /
Singular Like a Bird: The Art of Nancy Morejon
(1999)
The
Memphis Diary of Ida B. Wells (1995) /
Erotique Noire/Black Erotica
(1992) /
Homespun
Images
( 1989)
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Miriam in Ghana
Notes from a Scholar's Journal
By
Miriam DeCosta-Willis
Ghana III
Hi All,
Another couple of
great days in the neighborhood. Wednesday was completely
devoted to Kwame Nkrumah, with lots of readings in our
collection of essays, lectures in the morning, a visit
to Independence Square, and then a tour of Nkrumah's
mausoleum, where both he and his wife are buried. The
mausoleum reminds me a lot of that of Antonio Maceo in
Cuba, because it consists of four massive curved pillars
that open on the top and sides to the elements. Behind
that is the museum, which contains lots of his personal
effects (bed, desk, tables), the books that he wrote,
and numerous photos of him with world leaders such as
Castro, Nehru, Mao Tse Tung, Lumumba, and J.F.K.
There are a few
photos of him with his Egyptian wife, three sons, and
two (I think) daughters. One of his daughters is in the
Parliament here, but we haven't met her because the
focus of the trip is on scholars rather than political
figures. (Nkrumah attended Lincoln Univ., an HBCU in PA,
from 1935 to 1939. He was persuaded to attend by Azikiwi,
the former premier of Nigeria, who was at Lincoln when
my father was there.
Nkrumah was, thus,
in that first wave of African students who were educated
and, in many cases, radicalized in the U. S. He had a
very, very hard time financially and worked very hard to
obtain an education.)
Yesterday, we had a
very stimulating lecture on marriage and the family; as
you can imagine, I asked lots of questions, as I've been
doing in all of the sessions. The lecturer has written
many books on the different patterns of marriage:
matrilineal and patrilineal, questions of inheritance,
the role of women & men, etc. He noted that it's
customary in traditional families for the wife to
address her husband as "My Lord," so I don't think I'd
last long in a marriage here.
The next speaker, a
woman scholar, discussed traditional African religions,
and she gave a fascinating talk on the common beliefs
that prevail in many African religions in spite of the
wide differences. That afternoon, we went to a casket
shop, where we saw caskets made in the shapes of eagles,
boats, rifles, and bananas. If I weren't being cremated,
I'd get myself measured for one while I'm here (smile).
Next, we stopped
for drinks at Next Door, a seaside restaurant/bar, where
we listened to and watched the waves beating against the
rocks while we lounged around under palm trees. I had a
taste for rum, so indulged in a Cuba Libre. (I was
nostalgic cause so much about Ghana reminds me of Cuba.)
On to a fantastic, three-story high art gallery where
the art—really good works by talented painters and
sculptors—was to-die-for, with high price tags.
Today, we had a
tremendous lecture on gender by a scholar from the
Institute of African Studies, who received her doctorate
from Vanderbilt, of all places. Of course I asked about
statistics on rape, incest, HIV-AIDS, and family
planning initiatives, after her very informative talk on
the politics and economics of women's status in the
country. She had just flown in the night before from a
conference in China, but was definitely at the top of
her game.
Tomorrow, we'll
have a lecture on music/dance and something else, and
then spend the afternoon at the beach again. Sunday, we
leave for a tour of the country, traveling to Ho and the
Volta Region, Kumasi and the kingdom of the Asantes (Akan),
and then down to the southern coast, where we'll spend a
couple of days in a hotel on the beach, visit Cape Coast
and Elmina—forts from which our ancestors were taken.
Well, that's about all from here.—Miriam
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Miriam, I am glad
you arrived in Ghana safely and that you are fully
engaged. I'd like to publish a whole series of these
reports. Send them when you can. I thought you all would
be without internet access for the whole trip. I look
forward to other reports—Rudy
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Rudy, I thought so
too, so that's why I told folk to hold the e-mails. The
first day we were here, we went to an internet cafe
(they proliferate here), but I couldn't get access to
comcast. Then, we discovered that the Institute of
African Studies' office here at the chalets has three
fast computers, which they don't mind us using. We're
heading for a tour of the country early tomorrow
morning, moving every day or so, so I won't have access
to a computer or won't have time to write much if I find
an internet cafe. I do plan to write a long account on
my return. We visited the DuBois house/museum and tomb a
couple of days ago, and this morning we had a great
lecture on Pan-Africanism. I'm keeping a daily journal
that will be a good source of info, given my poor
memory. Take care. I'll be back in touch. Love,
Miriam
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Ghana IV
Hi there,
I'm sending this
from the internet cafe at our hotel; I have to pay to
use the internet and Comcast is slow as molasses.
We left Accra very
early yesterday morning (Sun.) and traveled through
small villages such as Madina and Adenta, which were
amazingly quiet and liveless because everyone was at
church or the mosque. Last weekend, when we passed
through those same villages on our way to Aburi
Botannical Gardens, the place was teeming with life:
taxis and Tro Tros everywhere, vendors selling bananas
and dried fish, homemade furniture and cement blocks
piled on the sides of the roads, and tiny stalls next to
grills of roasted corn.
This Sunday we were
traveling through the Eastern Region, where the Krobo
language is spoken. More than 40 languages are spoken in
Ghana, and they are as different as Japanese and French,
Greek and Swahili. We passed through villages such as
Dodowa, Ado Meta, and Somanya, a large town, where the
women are reputed to be fantastic lovemakers and are
often accused of stealing other women's husbands. The
countryside is completely different in the Eastern
Regions—green and verdant, with banana and cassava trees
stretching into the distance, widely spaced mud huts
with thatched roofs, and lines of green hills on both
sides.
In one of the towns
we passed a huge outdoor funeral. Funerals are very
important occasions in Ghana, because the people are
very religious—whether they practice traditional
religions, Christianity, Islam, or mixtures of them—and
very family-oriented. The women wear black with bits of
red here and there, but if the deceased is over 90, they
wear white with strips of black running through it. All
along the road, we could see small casket shops behind
wire, because that area of the country is big on casket
manufacturing. Of course, they are handmade.
Finally, we arrived
at the Volta Lake, the largest man-made lake in the
world when it was completed under Nkrumah, which is
located in the Volta Region, near the border of Togo.
There, we boarded the Dodi Princess for a 5-hour cruise
on the lake. We were served a lunch of roast chicken or
grilled fish, spaghetti, and the inevitable rice. Soon
after we took off, we were treated to reggae and
contemporary highlife by King's Anchor Band, led by A.
J. Asamoah, with his combo of singers, guitar players,
drummers, etc. The Dodi had three decks, and on the
lower deck there was a small swimming pool for the kids.
Ben, whom the students have dubbed "Prof," and I took to
the dance floor. Half way through the cruise, we docked
at a small island, where children came out to greet the
passengers, escort them up the hill, and beg for coins.
We stopped on our
return to have drinks at the Volta Hotel, a lovely
facility on a hill, with tables on the balcony
overlooking the river.
At 6:00, we arrived
at the Chances Hotel in Ho, where we'll spend three
nights. Today, the group has a long day. They'll
journey for 1 1/2 hrs. to the Tafi Monkey Sanctuary to
feed the monkeys, then go another hour to the Wi
Waterfalls, where they'll walk for 45 minutes over
slippery rocks to the falls and then face a 3-hour drive
back to the hotel. This morning I pretended to have a
queasy stomach because I was not in the mood for the
long drive, difficult conditions, lack of sanitary food,
and no toilet facilities. I guess I'm not much of an
"adventure" traveler.
Instead, I had a
leisurely, late breakfast (by myself! privacy at last!),
will spend the day swimming and then reading and writing
in my journal around the pool. This afternoon, I'll go
into Ho and look for Jane, the sister of Mother's
caregiver Evelyn, at the SSNIT Canteen. Tomorrow,
though, I'll be up and running with the gang again. Love
and peace, Miriam
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Dentist Dr. Robert Lee
Championed
African-American Community in Ghana
In the mid-1950s,
Dr. Robert Lee, a dentist from South Carolina, moved to
Ghana to escape racism in the south. Over the next half
century, Lee became a fixture in the African-American
community in the West African country. Dr. Lee died on
Monday, July 5th at the age of 90. But few here in his
home state, or in the States at all, knew of his work.
But in Ghana, he made a name for himself. Dr. Robert
Lee, trained as a dentist, moved to Accra in the
mid-1950s. Over the past half century, Lee became a
fixture in the black American ex-patriot community in
Ghana.
NPR
Host Michel Martin talks to NPR West African
correspondent Ofeibea Quist-Arcton about his life and
legacy.
Dr. Robert Lee NPR Interview
Dentist Championed
African-American Community In Ghana
Dr Robert Lee passes on
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Dr.
Robert Lee in 2009 with Kwame Zulu Shabazz |
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Cape Coast Castle. A Collection of Poems By Kwadwo Opoku-Agyemang
Cape Coast Castle is
one of three slave castles on the coast of Ghana. The poet
believes that a place so savaged became a victim of society,
and a new orientation can only come about by breaking the
ancient silence. Naming the trauma involves him in exploring
the condition of the African world. Weaving an intricate
network of powerful images, his verse is both forceful and
lyrical. A teacher of literature at the University of Cape
Coast, the poet is acknowledged as a strong voice among the
new generation of African poets.
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Chiefs in Cape
Coast, Ghana /
Grand Durbar Parade
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Blacks in Hispanic Literature: Critical
Essays
Edited
by
Miriam DeCosta-Willis
Blacks in Hispanic Literature is a
collection of fourteen essays by scholars
and creative writers from Africa and the
Americas. Called one of two significant
critical works on Afro-Hispanic literature
to appear in the late 1970s, it includes the
pioneering studies of
Carter G. Woodson and
Valaurez B. Spratlin, published in the
1930s, as well as the essays of scholars
whose interpretations were shaped by the
Black aesthetic. The early essays, primarily
of the Black-as-subject in Spanish medieval
and Golden Age literature, provide an
historical context for understanding
20th-century creative works by
African-descended, Hispanophone writers,
such as Cuban
Nicolás Guillén and Ecuadorean poet,
novelist, and scholar
Adalberto Ortiz, whose essay analyzes
the significance of Negritude in Latin
America. This collaborative text set the
tone for later conferences in which writers
and scholars worked together to promote,
disseminate, and critique the literature of
Spanish-speaking people of African descent.
. . .
Cited
by a literary critic in 2004 as "the seminal
study in the field of Afro-Hispanic
Literature . . . on which most scholars in
the field 'cut their teeth'." |
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Notable Black Memphians (Miriam
DeCosta-Willis)—This
biographical and historical study by Miriam DeCosta-Willis (PhD,
Johns Hopkins University and the first African American faculty
member of Memphis State University) traces the evolution of a major
Southern city through the lives of men and women who overcame social
and economic barriers to create artistic works, found institutions,
and obtain leadership positions that enabled them to shape their
community. Documenting the accomplishments of Memphians who were
born between 1795 and 1972, it contains photographs and biographical
sketches of 223 individuals (as well as brief notes on 122 others),
such as musicians Isaac Hayes and Aretha Franklin, activists Ida B.
Wells and Benjamin L. Hooks, politicians Harold Ford Sr. and Jr.,
writers Sutton Griggs and Jerome Eric Dickey, and Bishop Charles
Mason and Archbishop James Lyke—all of whom were born in Memphis or
lived in the city for over a decade. . . . |
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posted 27 July 2009 |
