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Oral history interview with Kwaku Ofori-Ansa 

Anacostia Community Museum

Object Details

General
Associated documentation, including partial transcripts, for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.  The textual transcripts are not verbatim of the audio recordings. 
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Names
Howard University
Ofori-Ansah, Kwaku
Collection Creator
Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum
Place
Ghana
Africa
Washington (D.C.)
United States
Topic
Akan (African people)
Africans
Manners and customs
Folklore
Kente cloth
Restaurants
Education
Music
Clothing and dress
Food
Apartheid
Family
Child rearing
Rites and ceremonies
Religion
Dance
Race
Racism
Youth
Children
Interviews
Culture
Ghanaians
Ghanaian Americans
See more items in
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records / Series 3: Oral History Interviews
Sponsor
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Extent
3 Digital files
2 Sound cassettes
Date
circa 1992-1993
Archival Repository
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
Type
Archival materials
Digital files
Sound cassettes
Citation
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Note
The total playing time of interview recording is approximately 2 hours.
Scope and Contents
Kwaku Ofori-Ansa spoke in detail about the Ghanaian community and Akan groups in Washington, DC; and maintaining and continuing of traditional political systems, celebrations, clothing, food, language, music, dance, and storytelling, including folktales.  He detailed the history of Kente cloth, and the evolution of interest in African culture in the United States, including the opening of restaurants which served African and Ghanaian cuisine, establishment of educational and cultural institutions, the teaching of African culture and history at universities, African musical groups visiting from African countries, demonstrations for the elimination of apartheid, and clothing, food, and jewelry brought from Africa.  Ofori-Ansa discussed family unity and values in Ghanaian culture, the importance of identifying as Ghanaian and learning Ghanaian culture, Ghanaian parents raising their children, the special naming ceremony following the birth of Ghanaian children, the ingenious of elders, and visiting home in Ghana yearly.  He explained African belief system; specifically, how the spiritual world and physical world complement each other, and how ancestors, who are living in the spiritual world, participate in the physical world.  He also explained how information and news travels throughout the Ghanaian community; the communal spirit of Ghanaian music and dance; and his thoughts on race, racism, youth violence, and increasing the world view of young people.  Ofori-Ansa stated the town he was born and raised in in Ghana, and his ethnic group at the beginning of the interview.  He also spoke about Howard University, his video and book on Kente cloth, his work with the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of African Art, and teaching African crafts, games, and songs to kids, including at public schools in southeast Washington, DC.  Interview is in English.  Digital audio files include white noise and static.  Interviewee can be heard clearly for the most part.
Collection Restrictions
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1712088000981-1712088003368-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa78c954ab4-23cd-4290-8e81-b784f7a0b3c9

Related Content

  • Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records

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