African Association of Madison Graduation Celebration
The tree of learning

By Jonathan Gramling

       In the African community in Madison, education is held near and dear.
With relatively few assets coming into the country, education is considered
by Africans to be the gateway to success and a better life in Madison.
Success is not seen solely in individualistic terms. It is seen as success for
the African community as well.
       On June 5, the African Association of Madison (AAM) held its annual
graduation celebration at Neighborhood House. Dr. Al Felice spoke about the
impact of education on the African Diaspora. According to Felice, as
Africans have migrated to the United States from Africa, there have been
stages of community development from one generation to the next. “Relative
to the cycle and process of development that all cultures go through, there
are certain central themes,” Felice emphasized.
       The first stage of development is the Storytellers. “The Planters were
the Storytellers,” Felice said. “The Storytellers gave us the base, the
foundation, the who we are as Africans. The planters represent the earth, the
roots of the tree.  We cannot grow without a solid root, a base from which to
launch and return. The Planters tell the stories of the earth and the language.
They are the ones who instill the strength of being African in us. There is a
walk, a smell, a taste, a flavor, a feel, a posture, a strength of “African.”  
That came from the Storytellers. After colonialism, we had to redefine
ourselves. We had to find the earth. We had to figure out who we were as a
people because we were ill-defined. We were being defined in American
film, in theatre, in voice, in song, in stories as uncivilized, savage, brutes,
uncouth and animal like.”
       After the Storytellers, the Planters of the Tree of Education, came the
Developers, the first generation to settle in America. “The very first of us
who came over, even before your parents, the Developers, tried to talk like
them, walk like them, assimilate into their culture,” Felice told the
graduates. “It didn’t work because we lost the stories that the Planters had
given to us.  We didn’t see the wisdom; we didn’t see the messages in the
stories. But in time, as our wave came through, we began to see the value
of being. We began to sing our songs and dance our dances —
understanding the power and presence of knowing our own voice, of
defining ourselves within their vehicles of access.  
       The majority of us stayed within academia. Not all, but the majority. That
was important for many reasons, not the least of which was that it forged
(within the Western community) a discord, because of the need to
reconceptualize their posture, their learning of who we were as a people. It
began to build that solid tree trunk from which you now shoot. They began to
see us differently, very differently from what was told to them, what was
shown to them.”
       And now, the first generation of Africans born in the United States play
a different role, according to Felice, the role of Investor. “Your responsibility
is to begin building the bridge,” Felice said. “You are to build the ramp for
the Travelers to take off from. You are to lay down the launching pad. You
are the beginnings of the branches!! That is your responsibility. You are the
ones to bring a different culture home. We are the academicians. You are the
bankers. You are the high school teachers. You are the actors, the dancers,
the franchise owners, the developers, the apartment builders, the pilots, the
writers.”
       “You are the Investors,” Felice continued. “You are to find friends from
different cultures. You are to invite as many different people to your events
on and off campus as possible. You are to attend their events. That is your
job.  That is your job!!! Your children are to spend a semester in France, in
Spain, in Turkey all over the world. They are the Travelers. You are to create
the foundation for them. You are the Investors. This is how we spread. This
is how the tree grows.”
       In order to fulfill their roles as Investors, Felice offered a few words of
guidance to the graduates. “Use African cloths and fabrics to create
European and Western designs,” Felice bade the graduates. “Learn to cook your foods.  Learn to cook their foods. Bring your food whenever you get
invited to a potluck. When giving a speech make sure you employ at least one reference to home, from home, and in dialect.  Use analogies. Learn to sing
your songs.  Learn to sing their songs. Learn to sing your songs in their rhythms.  Learn to sing their songs in your rhythms. Dance with gay abandon.
Have cross-cultural relationships. Have at least one academic semester in a country outside the U.S. Save at least 25 cents of every dollar.  Purchase
land.  Land never rots.”
        The following were honored at the 2009 AAM Graduation Celebration:

High School Graduates: David Diayen, Nikki Enemouh, Bemis Gorvego, Lafayette Sharpe, Elvera Woller, Idris Amara

College/University Graduates: Oluyemisi Adeyemi, Foye Adeyemo, Tamara Amakobe, Abou Amara, Cyrille Amegashie, Tope Awe, Pa Mohammed Bah,
Nane Borh, Julious Browne, Audrey Buchanan, Mohammed Cole, Aimey Enemouh, Sali Fusi, Zubah Gorvego, Megan Hamel, Autherine Ikanih, Eugene
Kidau, Zainabu Kooistra, Nathan Adenuyi Kumapayi, Adebanke Lesi, Adrienne Lewis, Laurie Mlatawuo, Ngozi Ogbuchi, Grace Okoli, Alex Olson, Wale
Onabule, Uchenna Oraedu, Samira Quist, Julia Randall, Merchades Rutechura, Abdalla Salah, Peter Vakunta, Linda Vakunta