To Fulfill Ota’s Dying Wish to Go Back Home to Congo by Returning His Remains
The committee will repatriate Ota to Congo. Ota was homesick to return home, but his remains have been interred now for well over 100 years in Lynchburg, Virginia. Transferring Ota to the Congo requires scientific verification of the remains; the dignified, spiritual, and culturally syntonic exhumation; the repatriation process; and the proper memorialization of Ota’s remains in Congo.
This work will also erect a fitting memorial for Ota Benga and his benefactor, Gregory Willis Hayes, at their shared gravesite in White Rock Cemetery and as part of the memorial in Congo.
