Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 11, 1993 TAG: 9303110465
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MELANIE S. HATTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
`IT MAKES ME PROUD'
THERE was a buzz in the band room Friday at Patrick Henry High School as students reached for African clothes.As senior Cheryl Mosley stepped out of the changing room, classmate Malena Houston screamed, "Ahh, that looks good. That's cute. It suits your [skin] color."
Mosley wore a traditional African Royal Boubou, a smock and pants, and a hat, or crown. The loose-fitting top with matching mauve and gold pants was decorated with embroidery around the collar, cuffs and ankles.
"I feel proud," to wear something made in Africa and not Asia, she said.
When senior Heather Moore appeared from the room in a colorful outfit topped by an elaborately embroidered "crown" someone shouted, "Oooh, Queen Latifah," referring to the rapper who wears similar hats.
Moore was the only white student in the room.
"It feels real strange," she said of wearing the African clothes. But she added, "I like it."
For the second consecutive year, Patrick Henry's African American Culture class sponsored a visit by the Ishangi Family Dancers of West Africa through the Washington D.C.-based Africanist Foundation. Students raised money by selling T-shirts and holding concerts.
The foundation provided African garments for students to wear during the opening ceremony of the Ishangi family's performance.
As students searched for costumes on a clothes rack, Prince Kolan-Mong "Kolani" de Gboulogou, director of the foundation, looked on.
"Look at them, grabbing for what has been denied them," he said.
The African within them that has been suppressed for centuries is coming out, he explained. "These are African children."
Turning to student Korey Moore, Kolani asked him the meaning of a symbol on a white tunic.
Moore didn't know.
Kolani asked him what does Nike stand for.
"The Goddess of Love," Moore said. "It's Greek."
Kolani sneered.
Africa is never given credit for anything, Kolani said.
The embroidered pattern on the tunic was the same as the pendant around Kolani's neck. He held it out. "It is the Ank. This is the symbol of life, the original cross."
The Africanist Foundation's mission is to promote world peace and the traditional African culture, Kolani said.
A Hampton native, Kolani visited West Africa for the first time in 1987 at the age of 40. It was then that the chief of the village Togo embraced Kolani and named him his lost son.
Kolani and the foundation are raising money to build a health-care facility about 30 miles from Togo and away from any modern facilities, he said. The center will serve 16,000 people.
It is the responsibility of African Americans to help their motherland, he said.
Sophomore Phillipe Randolph had dressed in an African robe during last year's activities.
"At first I didn't want to wear it," because he thought other students and teachers would laugh at him. But others reacted positively, asking questions about the clothes.
Randolph said he walked through the school last year in African garb, "acting like I was all bad." But, during the experience, he felt proud of his heritage.
"The guys looked tough," Houston said about last year's event.
As a group of 30 students formed a line outside the auditorium to march in Friday, some grumbled about the cold.
"Don't even think you are cold. This young brother here has no shoes on," said Kolani, pointing to Kwame Ishangi.
The 8-year-old boy stood barefoot on the concrete with a drum half his size strapped to his body.
"Stop complaining," Kolani continued. "We need to love each other. You are the most beautiful people in the world."
That said, the entourage headed into the building to announce the arrival of the West African prince.
Joe Herbin, a junior, carried a bow and arrow as he marched. He felt comfortable in his Royal Boubou and with the ceremony.
Herbin said that he was getting in touch with his roots and discovering a part of himself he had never known before.
"It makes me proud to be black," he said.