Campus honors African heritage
by Brian Shults, se news editor

    Other events are listed on page 10.

   An author and oral storyteller, a blues musician and an African sculptor will help SE, NW and South campuses observe African American Heritage Month.

   John Owhonda, a professional African storyteller and children’s book author, will tell some cultural stories on SE Campus Tuesday, Feb. 12.

   Catherine Whiteman will present a narration and musical presentation of jazz, blues and gospel in the 20th century on SE and South campuses Feb. 12 and Feb. 18.

   SE and NW will display Augie N’Kele’s Forgotten Heritage wire sculptures Feb. 12 and Feb. 21.

   “Storytelling is the best way to teach history, values and wisdom. If you educate a child with a story, he will remember that story long after you are gone,” Owhonda said.

   Owhonda was born into the Ikweree ethnic group in Nigeria and trained by elders there to become a griot. Storytellers for kings in Africa, griots serve as a link from the past to future generations, Owhonda said.

   Before moving to Texas Owhonda received a graduate degree in Yugoslavia. He came to Fort Worth for a graduate degree from Texas Christian University (TCU) in international affairs.

   Living on three continents has given him a foundation for themes regarding the “commonality of people,” Owhonda said.

   “There are limits on what we can actually physically experience, and there are limits where pictures are concerned. But in story telling, the imagination is loose, and it has no boundaries. It is the greatest teaching aid available,” he said.

   Owhonda began telling stories to entertain people while attending TCU. After a short time, his reputation for tales, drawn from experiences growing up along the Niger River in West Africa, spread, prompting requests from schools and libraries for him to speak in their cultural programs, Owhonda said.

   His books include Musa the Mouse, Wiggly the Worm and Kangaroo Boxer.

   “The stories could be about children anywhere in the world,” he said, describing his African tales.

   Owhonda also teaches families how to use storytelling to pass their history down to future generations.

   Whiteman, who follows Owhonda in the celebration, is an actress, singer and storyteller who has performed in Texas for over 15 years.

   Using a combination of narration and music to illustrate the influence of jazz, gospel and blues on American culture Whiteman will include the music of Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington in her presentation.

   N’Kele’s three-dimensional wire sculpture will be on display Tuesday, Feb. 12, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in the North and South Ballrooms on SE Campus and again Thursday, Feb. 21, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. in B-118 on NW Campus.

   “I began a series of narrative sculptures with a historical theme called Forgotten Heritage. I drew from memories of my youth in the Congo, events I studied in school and my own personal experiences learning to cope in a world far away from my family and all that was familiar,” he said.

   N’Kele graduated from Zaire Fine Arts Academy in Kinshasa in 1979 and moved to the United States in 1982.

   N’Kele’s first exhibit was on NE Campus in 1992. Since then, his work has been on exhibition in other parts of the United States, Europe and Singapore.

   Forgotten Heritage is a series of over 200 sculptures about African history and culture, as well as a list of 20th century African Americans who have made important contributions to the humanities, N’Kele said.

   The heritage celebration will be in the North Ballroom on SE Campus Tuesday, Feb. 12. Owhonda, who appeared on South Campus Monday, will speak at 8:30 a.m. and again at 11:30 a.m.

   Whiteman will perform at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on SE Campus Tuesday, Feb. 12. Her other performance will be on South Campus Monday, Feb. 18, at 12:30 p.m. in the SUB Forum Room.