Brothers share African heritage with students

By A.J. Panian
LEADER TIMES
Tuesday, February 18, 2003

FORD CITY -- Their cultural heritage is rooted in Nigeria, the west African country of their ancestral origin. But the way they express it, musically and otherwise, has a twist of Western Hemisphere.

Sade Ogulano, Jobi and Ojotosu Olamina each were born to and raised by father Olomide Ogunlano and mother Omi Ajamu in the only traditional African village in North America, The Kingdom of Oyotunji African Village in Sheldon, S.C.

A replica village for one in their native country, the settlement located 50 miles north of Savannah, Ga, was established in 1970 by the African Theological Archministry, Inc., to welcome those interested in studying Yoruba, the cultural tradition of art and expression for those with ties to this region.

According to Jobi Olamina, he and his brothers grew up surrounded by music, dance and storytelling of their Nigerian culture as their parents preached its hallmarks to them from a very early age.

"The first seven or eight years of my life, I hadn't been out into the outside world," said Olamina.

"We try to share our heritage through what we've learned of it."

And for seven years, the family has creatively and entertainingly presented the history behind that heritage as the Sambreel African Connection Ensemble (SACE) for school students and other audiences around the nation.

Last week, SACE helped Armstrong County celebrate Black History Month with their exhibition of music, dance and historical testimony to Lenape Elementary, Ford City Junior/Senior High School and Kittanning High School.

Ford City native Katt Hefner, president of Sambreel Enterprises, Inc., which specializes in providing all types of educational experiences to schools nationwide, made it happen along with many borough businesses.

"There's different months that have various titles and themes. March is Women's History Month, so there's going to be more than just a black women's history that we're going to hit on, it will be various facets of culture that we'll have different people talking about. We have Hispanic Month, there's science and so on," said Hefner.

Hefner was excited to be able to bring SACE to her hometown and gracious to local merchants who made it possible.

Ford City Principal Timothy Sedgwick pointed out an obvious benefit of the program.

"We have a small minority here at the high school, and it's just nice to see that the kids outside of the minority groups see some of the roots, heritage and customs of minorities; I don't think they get a chance to see something like this every day," said Sedgwick.

The program began with a traditional style welcome set to pulsating beats from the hands of the sons on various African-style drums coupled with the rhythmic chants from the parents who quickly called for response from the clapping audience, instantly pulling them into their performance.

"What I'm saying to you is I greet you in peace and health, and what you're saying back to me is 'We have peace and health, thank you'," said Olomide Ogunlano after expressing the translated version of the statements in Yoruba.

Ford City mayor and school teacher Jeff Pyle agreed with Sedgwick concerning the value of such a presentation to the audience of students and adults alike.

"It's raising awareness amongst a population that previously didn't know any of this stuff," said Pyle.

"It's a very attractive setting and it draws you in."

For nearly 20 years, Frank Tolliver of Ford City toiled every February to ensure that the history and heritage of African-Americans was properly put on display throughout the borough's public buildings and schools. The uncle of facilitator Katt Hefner, Tolliver and wife Charlotte attended the performance.

"He would put all these huge displays up in the hallways (of the school) explaining different aspects of African culture," said Pyle. "I'm really glad that Katt Hefner decided to step up and bring SACE in, it's keeping the link alive."

The presentation told as the journey of African peoples to different parts of the world, including Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, Jamaica as well as North America and how their music, culture and heritage followed them there and forever permeated and became part of each nation's own history.

"We always want to have a moral or a lesson (in the stories), and as much as we're tying this in with African History Month, we make it like a journey that the actual slaves were taken on when they were brought from Africa," said Olomide. "We touch on how the African culture has influenced so much and survived throughout (the western hemisphere)."

From one destination to the next, SACE tells a historical story complete with music and dance appropriate for the discussed area of the world.

And the true moral of each story?

"There are all different types of people in the world, some straight hair, some not straight hair, some brown skin, some red skin, some yellow skin, some white skin, and what we have to learn and always know is that if this world is going to continue we must learn how to live together, love each other and look at the heart of a person, not what is on the outside," said Ajamu.

Senior student Klara Brown was encouraged by the presentation and wants to see more like it in the future.

"I feel that I learned more (about African-American history) at this particular assembly than I learned in my whole time in school," Brown said.