M�SlSSippi 81 cks
cha�e ration
ofg v
MUOO PL TATIO,
M -Blacks in the mall
community of Bamboo Planta­
tion, Mississippi have filed suit
charging local white fanners of
de ecr ting old Black
cemeteries by planting cotton
on the graveyard sites. The
Rev. Earnest Ware i the leader
of a group which has filed a
$15.5 million suit for damages
and to top the practice.
But the white family which
_ JlQW t site wenl.ahcad_ .
rt k��DAc�to�:����.�
se n even Iter the uit.
ri jj J a me Qiy a1 JO';1t.
professor �t 'he University f
Tennessee ys th practi of
planting crop on old Black
grave ite i common.
MIC I
CITIZE
Published Each
Sunday By
New Day Enterprise
12541 Second Street
P.O. B x 03560
Highland Park, MI 48203
(313) 869-0033
Benton Harbor Bureau
175 Main Street
Benton Harbor, MI 49022
(616) 927-1527
Publisher:
Charles D. Kelly
. Editor:
Teresa Kelly
Managing Editor:
Wanda F. Roquemore.
Contributor :
Harry Anderson
Bernice Brown
Patricia Colbert
Mary Golliday
Allison Jones
Shock Rock
Leah Samuel
Ron Seigel
Tureka Turk
Carolyn Warfield
Vera White
Production Manager:
Kascene Barks
Production:
Antia Iroha
Thurman Powell
Orlando Karim
Account Executive:
Earlene Tolliver
Deadline for all newspaper
and advertisin copy i 12 noon
Wedn da prior to publication.
The Michi an Citiz n i avail­
able 1 tin through Ethnic
Newswatch andto suc criber of
M ad Data Central.
" 0 ial darwini m
b In a' cientifi
ju tification for
h olingchildren of
diff, re t ba
round differently.
the early 1900
Ira king had begun
and du ation be­
anI a mechani m
for p� motin 0 ial
l. � uratification.:
"B caw' langua
ca
Woodward Av ,Suite 202.
Th West African art, collected by
Ousmana Kern, a West African from
Monrovia, U ria, i being presented
in Da Iy's Gallery on th econd floor
of th David Whitney Building
exhibit and J on exhibit ovem­
ber 22 through December 22 in th
Dably GaJlery is ponsored by
African-Arneri an arti t Jamc.
Lewis.
Lewis wns and operates Dably'
Gallery and Publi bing Company in
the David Whitney BuiJdin , 155
DAIL'S GALLERY
David Whitney 81dg
1553 Woodward Ave .. 2nd FI
Detroit, MI48�26 .
(People Move, Stup .13
313-964-4247
Pi�se Its
xhibi
We
'by
OUSMANA KERA'
Africall Art Trader
November 22 - December 22, 1992
11 - 8 PM • 7 Days a week
, OUSMANA IS KNOWN THROUGHOUT THE U.S.
FOR HIS FINE SELECTION OF:
�� �b�
. Jew Iry Trad Beads
Gold Dust Weights carving
Cloth & Kent. Strip Mudd Cloth
W. vlng In trum nt
African Game
C·YORU
e
C
II
U
•
o 822UMrla
c:J Ou m
o
K r
Inl
n
rn
• 0 n
o
o
•
cording Barqu t, the original
rni ion of American public I in
th early 1 th ntury w "to i
opportunity, I,ll progr
mo ility" for all citize in the relative­
ly ne r lativ I homo eneous
d m racy.
But, he noted when ururu an
from . outhern and e tern Europe
nou D be . me to the United Sta and rural
arnili . moved to the cities at the end
o
I HI lIIBI 0 We t
African art, there are mas ,bronze
and wood, jewelry, gold dust weigh ,
cloth and kente strip ,fabri ,trade
beads made in the early 17 . carv­
ings, mud, cloth, in trument and
replicas 0 African game.
The art work com from Yoruba,
Luba Lobi, Man hanti, Dan,
Fang, Bassa, Chokwe, Pende Bobo,
Guro, Senufo and Baga.
Lewis contends that Kera has over
"300 pieces" of art in this exhibit and
the value is "at least S300,<XXl."
Some of the masks are 70 to 80
y ars old and were and are used in
dances, rites of passage, harvest and
marriage ceremonies.
Moreover, Kera said, "Some
people used to worship these mas . "
There are masks at various prices
but the most expensive ones sell for
OBI-
TI •
lion
I Afric
n Art
d
r
•
M
o
•
,
a
$3,000, Kera said.
However, Lewis said, "Historical­
ly, they are priceless."
THE"TRADEBEAD�"wru�
occasionally are found in America
and in the Caribbean Islands, were
used during the slave trade, Lewis
said. They are called "African trade
beads but they were made by the
Europeans for trading pwposes."
Lewis said history claims that ap-
Jmx;iiDattlv axr of the "trwte
rr-.l!.�� 'fl nt"·v �J�' t..iJ-:-;:;r
beadS were maae and au but � per-
I ctnt-bavo been JIOOOve.ted.
For Kera, the task of trading with
West Africans fur art work is easy
compared to getting the artwork out of
the countries.
"The difficulty is not getting the.
artwork, " hew said. "The difficulty is
getting it out of the country because
the governments don '·t like important
stuff to go out"
Kera, who speaks English,
Swahili, French and Guinea, has been
an art trader for better than 20 YC8IS.
He and Lewis are trying arrange the
exhibit to coincide with Black History
Month and also to create a lecture
series so' Kent's knowledge about
West African art can be utilized in a
learning situation.
Lewis, a "self taught visual artist,"
approach to art is different from the art
(sales) exhibit Kera has put together.
In at least two categories, move­
ment and colorin�, Lewis' art is
remindful of the work of Jacob
Lawrence.
IN ONE PAINTING titled
"Watch Me Dance," Lewi uses the
two and three rotor combination that
Lawrence is famous for, explicitly.
The motion flows effortlessly.
"She taught," he said. "I was in­
volved in an acddentin 1973. I had a
back injury and part of my therapy
was art work. "
From that beginning the creative
giant that rages inside of Lewis bas not
been at rest and today, he said, "I have
pain� over 5,000 pieces. "
There is a world of beauty in the
two art forms: the West African an
and the art of an African. And when
one looks closely.there i continuity.
SC{JLP RE
huh out of (.tiahu ..... (�
&,una? AfriQft KWptur. iI power.
NI, pr'OYoc.acive, and proWlu •
ali", .Inel cniq". touch to t.o..
dec�. We have. fine .... c:tion of
tr.dition3J I, , (i,w , and ocher
wooden artl c:t» (",any 01 C()JIectat
qu&uty) Croll1 all �Il' of Alri�. On
&he contemrorary ide, &h�1I CAIV.
an,., from N:&cn. .nd Mwyli woocI
ani:n."lo from Kenya; clwmi"l P_
wax- bronz • (rom \V t AIri " and
�.ulifuUydctUedb�and �
an. ,.lOnct,JCrpcn ·ne,.lel lUcia,.
from Keny;. and Zimbabwe.