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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.

Save the Date: Please Join Us!

The Fifth Annual “We Remember Ota Benga” Memorial Program is
6:00 p.m. Saturday, March 21, 2026 at St. John’s Episcopal Church
205 Elmwood Ave. Lynchburg, VA 24503.

The evening will include:

1. The Cardwell-Rousell Harmony Reception in memory of Owen Cardwell and Chris Rousell, two beloved community leaders we lost last year, and the harmonious and loving way of being-in-the-world they both represented.
2. African Art Exhibit and Gallery Talk with live and video pieces belonging to committee members and the Hampton University Museum.
3. Launch of the “Justice for Ota” Campaign and Benga Brand items: new Benga booklet, wristbands, and Stan Webb designed inaugural Ota Benga shirt.

Ota Benga was a Congolese individual who was taken from his home and brought to the United States in 1904 by Samuel Phillips Verner, an American missionary and explorer who was commissioned to survey the former Congo Free State and exhibit Africans for display. In 1904, Ota Benga was placed on display at the St. Louis World’s Fair in Missouri, but he would later be moved to the Bronx Zoo in New York, where he was displayed in the Zoo’s Monkey House along with an orangutan. The treatment of Ota Benga was followed by outrage from African American newspapers and ministers, and their efforts manifested into a campaign demanding his release.

Following Ota Benga’s Release, he would live in Lynchburg, Virginia, with Gregory Willis Hayes, former President of Virginia Theological Seminary, (now known as Virginia University of Lynchburg) and later Hayes’ widow, Mary Rice Hayes Allen. Ota Benga’s time in Lynchburg was characterized by his sense of disconnection; although he was accepted within the Black community, he remained an outsider, struggling to find a true sense of belonging, and longing for his home in Congo. Ota Benga would act on these feelings and attempt to return home, but was unable, due to outbreak of World War I, which led to him committing suicide in 1916.

In all its tragedy, the story of Ota Benga remains a powerful reminder of the effects of racial and cultural exploitation, and the Committee seeks restorative justice for the wrongs which he endured. The legacy left behind by Ota Benga calls for continued reflection on the ways history has marginalized and dehumanized individuals, urging society to confront its past and work toward healing and reconciliation.