It is an honor to work with Ms. van de Graaf and a very talented committee to bring a measure of justice to Ota Benga, the African man known world-wide as, “The Pygmy in the Zoo.”  Naturally, many people think his story ended in 1916 with his death. 

Well, the story has not ended. Over 100 years later, this Committee is writing a new chapter through ambitious initiatives on both sides of the Atlantic to make the life and death of Ota Benga a beacon of hope for human dignity, inclusion, unity, and progress for all. The old narrative will have a new ending. Injustice will not have the last word. Dr. King’s Moral Arc of Justice will be reaffirmed.

We invite everyone who believes in human dignity and prosperity for all to join us, as “Friends of Ota Benga.”

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.