A Message from the Founder and Chair, Ann Van de Graaf

As an immigrant to this country, I have always been interested in the connections between Africa (my home continent) and Lynchburg, Virginia.

When the late Congolese scholar, Dr. Dibinga wa Said of Harvard, first told me about Ota Benga and that he was buried in Lynchburg, I felt that his story needed to be known more widely. The same pseudo-science of human evolution that was used to exploit Ota Benga more than a century ago is at the core of the racism that still exists today.

Ota’s story needs to be told on a global scale and his bones returned to his homeland.