Lynchburg, Ota Benga, and the Empowerment of the Pygmies: an International Conference

October 25 – 27, 2007, Lynchburg, Virginia

The theme of the conference revolves around Ota Benga, a Pygmy who was brought to America, by explorer/missionary Samuel Phillips Verner to be part of an exhibit at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. When the World’s Fair closed Ota Benga returned to the Congo where he helped Verner collect plants and specimens that Verner hoped to sell to the Museum of Natural history in New York. Upon their return to the U.S., the Museum was not able to pay them for the artifacts. Running out of funds, Verner left Ota Benga at the Museum where he lived for a period of time until he was taken to the Bronx Zoo. There, Mr. William Temple Hornaday, director of the zoo, exhibited Ota Benga in a cage with chimpanzees. The exhibit attracted crowds of visitors and was well documented in the New York newspapers of the time. A group of black ministers, incensed at this outrage, managed to get him released in their custody. He was taken to live in an orphanage in New York but later was able to persuade them to take him to the Virginia Seminary and College in Lynchburg (now VUL). He lived in the President’s house and took classes at the school. He also worked in a tobacco factory and did odd jobs. However, growing despondent because he was not able to secure funds to return to Africa, he shot himself in the heart, on the Spring Equinox, 1916. He is buried in Lynchburg in an unmarked grave.

Through Ota Benga’s compelling life story the Conference will provide an open environment for discussion on issues of past exploitation of vulnerable human populations and the resulting present day effects.

Topics include Western intervention and occupation of Africa in the late nineteenth century, the impact of American Missionaries on Africa and the current situation of the Pygmies in the Congo

By bringing together humanities scholars from throughout the U.S., indigenous people from the Congo, foreign embassy personnel, students and the general public the Conference will examine these issues from different cultural perspectives.

The conference is sponsored by the Virginia University of Lynchburg, in conjunction with Lynchburg College, Randolph College, Sweet Briar College, the African Congress of the Pygmies, and Amazement Square Children’s Museum.

Major funding for the conference is provided by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities as part of the We the People initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Dolan Fund for Peace and Justice.

All events are free and open to the public. Conference events do not include meals

Conference Agenda
Day I: October 25, 2007
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - Opening Ceremonies
	Welcome: Kenneth Garren, President, Lynchburg College Her Excellency Faida Mitifu, Ambassador, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (invited) His Excellency Jerome Mendouga, Ambassador, Cameroon His Excellency Antoine Ntamobwa, Ambassador, Burundi (invited) His Excellency Emmanuel Touaboy, Ambassador, Central African Republic (invited) Location: Sydnor Recital Hall, Elliot & Rosel Schewel Hall, Lynchburg College
10:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. - Panel 1 Theme: Rise of Western Interventionism and Occupation of Africa in the Late Nineteenth Century
	Dr. Kairn Klieman, Associate Professor of History, University of Houston "Beyond Primordialist Myths: The Batwa (Pygmy) Role in Central African History" Dr. Antoine Dimandja, Professor Emeritus, Université de Lubumbashi, DRC “Colonial Penetration in the 19th Century Congo: King Leopold’s Belgian Rule in the Ota Benga Time: 1885-1908” Panel Chair: Dr. Peggy Pittas, Assistant Dean Senior Symposium/LCSR Program, Lynchburg College Location: Sydnor Recital Hall, Elliot & Rosel Schewel Hall, Lynchburg College
2:00 p.m. - 3:40 p.m. - Panel II Theme: Christian Churches and the Colonial Order in Africa
	Dr. Dorothy Akubue-Brice, Professor of History, Lynchburg College The Role of the American Missionaries in Africa Ms. Mary Lou Hultgren, Former Director of the Hampton University Museum "Courage in King Leopold's Congo: William H. Sheppard and William Morrison Pioneering Missionaries and Human Rights Activists from Virginia." Panel Chair: Dr. Vernon Miles, Dean of the College, Lynchburg College Location: Sydnor Recital Hall, Elliot & Rosel Schewel Hall, Lynchburg College Morrison: Pioneering Missionaries and Human Rights Activists from Virginia
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. - Panel III Theme: Ota Benga – Recognition of his life in Lynchburg
	Ms. Carrie McCray, author and poet “Ota Benga Under My Mother’s Roof” Mrs. Katherine Hadley-Gordon, Public School Teacher, Ota Benga: One Man, Survival in Life and Death Ted Delaney, Archivist, Old City Cemetery Panel Chair: Dr. Ralph Reavis, President, Virginia University of Lynchburg Location: Sydnor Recital Hall, Elliot & Rosel Schewel Hall, Lynchburg College
Day II: Friday, October 26, 2007
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - Panel IV Theme: Socio-Psychological Effects of a Dominant Culture on Dominated Cultures
	Dr. Horace Rice, retired educator and author A Comparative Analysis between Congolese Batwa and Cherokee Indians Madame Thérèse Pambo, Vice-President, CONAFPY Causes and Consequences of Youth Delinquency in Minority Twa Communities Mr. Antoine Isofaka, President, The African Congress of the Pygmies (CONAFPY) The CONAFPY, Its Nature, Objectives and Struggles for the social, political, economic rights of the Pygmies in the DRC Panel Chair: Dr. W. S. Dibinga, T.D., Ph. D. Location: Virginia University of Lynchburg
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Panel V Theme: Ota Benga - From Africa to the World’s Fair to the Bronx Zoo
	Dr. Phillip Bradford, Professor and Author,Ota Benga’s life in Africa, Capture, and journey to America Mr. Mitch Keller, journalist and author, "The Scandal at the Zoo," The New York Times Panel Chair: Ms. Pat Price, Director, Center for Social Justice, Lynchburg College Location: Virginia University of Lynchburg Evening Special Art Exhibit at Amazement Square
Day III: Saturday, October 27, 2007
10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. - Panel VI Theme: The Pygmies in Today’s Congo and Beyond
	Mr. Grégoire Bokungu, Vice-President, CONAFPY The Plight of the Pygmies Before and After the Restoration of a Democratic Government in the DRC Speaker (TBA): U.N., Local, National & International Human Rights Organization and the Human Rights of the Pygmies in the DRC. Stephen Corry, Director, Survival International, Inc. The Tragic Plight of Indigenous Peoples in Africa: The Case of the aboriginal inhabitants of Botswana in Southern Africa Panel Chair: Dr. Jonathan Green, Dean of the College and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Sweet Briar College Location: Sweet Briar College
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Panel Discussion - all panelists How can we help the Pygmies help themselves
	Encouraging International Concern and Care about the Plight of the Indigenous Peoples of the Congo and Beyond. Location: Sweet Briar College Time: Afternoon Art Exhibit at Amazement Square

This conference is approved as a Signature Event of the Jamestown 400th Anniversary
through the Virginia University of Lynchburg’s affiliation with the HBCUs of Virginia.

Online registration for the Conference can be accessed
through http://www.lynchburg.edu/otabenga.xml

For information contact Ms. Pat Price at 434/544-8576 or by e-mail at price.p@lynchburg.edu

All events are free and open to the public. Conference events do not include meals

Morrison: Pioneering Missionaries and Human Rights Activists from Virginia

Evening