Africa in the 21St Century: the Cultural Reconnection
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BACK TO AFRICA IN THE 21ST CENTURY: THE CULTURAL RECONNECTION EXPERIENCES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN MARCIA TATE ARUNGA A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change Program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April, 2017 This is to certify that the Dissertation entitled: BACK TO AFRICA IN THE 21ST CENTURY: THE CULTURAL RECONNECTION EXPERIENCES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN prepared by Marcia Tate Arunga is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership and Change Approved by: ______________________________________________________________________ Philomena Essed, Ph.D., Committee Chair date ______________________________________________________________________ Laura Morgan Roberts, Ph.D., Committee Member date ______________________________________________________________________ W. Joye Hardiman, Ph.D., Committee Member date ______________________________________________________________________ Filomina Steady, Ph.D., External Reader date Copyright 2017 Marcia Tate Arunga All rights reserved Acknowledgement I would like to thank the entire faculty in the Antioch Leadership and Change program for your extraordinary teaching that has led to attaining my doctorate. I especially thank my chair person and advisor, Dr. Philomena Essed for her guidance through this dissertation. What an honor to have you as my esteemed chair! Thanks to Dr. Laura M. Roberts for being a vocal coach throughout my dissertation process. There are no words to express my deepest appreciation for my ubiquitous mentor, Dr. W. Joye Hardiman, responsible for molding and shaping my scholarship for several decades. Also, I extend a heartfelt thanks to my external reader, Dr. Filomina Steady, whose capable and insightful words of critique so wonderfully validated my work. Special acknowledgement goes to my interim advisor Dr. Carol Baron who advised me through challenging personal episodes. Lastly, I acknowledge with deep appreciation my editor, Dr. Norman Dale who went above and beyond the call of duty to coach me with his articulate abilities. I thank you. I acknowledge with great honor, Dr. Maxine Mimms, the elder who elected to travel on at least seven delegations and called me on a regular basis throughout this dissertation process to ensure completion. I thank you for demonstrating extraordinary elder leadership. Also, my sincere gratitude for colleague and friend, Dr. Carolyn Coles Benton who coached me through to the end of this PhD process. You are what sisterhood is all about! Acknowledgement and gratitude goes to the Kenyan counterparts that were dedicated to this work especially Petroline Arunga, Prisca Auma, Julia Amayo, Ruth Wasawo, Phoebe Asiyo, Ida Odinga, Margaret Mwangola, Pamela Awuor Oyoo, Mama Sarah Obama, Salim Anudo, June Arunga Kimani, Martin Kimani, Lilly Kidenda, Abigael Arunga, Tito and Sheila Arunga, to name a few. i Many thanks to my Pacific Northwest village including Africatown, ASCAC, Antioch University Seattle, Seattle Central College, Bergen African Students Union, Black Prisoners Caucus, Village of Hope, Black Star Line Parent Collective, Taya Sola industries, Dr. Lowest Jefferson, Debra Jackson, Thelma Hardiman, Salmh Hardiman, Dee Stephens Oboma, Kwame Morrow, Karen Winston, Brian Constable, Mary Flowers, Wyking Garrett, Sheley Seacrest, Donald Felder, Delbert Richardson, Ayan Muse, Janet Preston, Lakeema Bell, Josephine Otieno, Zackary Oyoo, Augustine and Zakiya Cita, Gerald Hankerson, Marjon Margaret, Vickie Williams, Larry and Rhonda Gossett, Anita and Khalfani Mwamba, Phyllis and John Yasutake, Paris and Pamela Bridges and all of my friends and extended family who listened and encouraged me. Finally, I acknowledge with love, my two surviving aunts in the generation before me, Lillie Buford and Inez Walden. Special thanks to all of the delegates between 2000 and 2010: Ruperta Alexis, Nia Arunga, Nacala Ayele, AIn-Akilah Bell, Gloria Bennett, Willa Blacknall, Jada Berteaux, Rhonda Brown, Donna Buchanan, Dr. Gloria Burgess, Beatirce Butler, Ife’ Carruthers, Germaine Covington, Mayet Dalila, Dr. Ursula Parrish Daniels, Kikora Dorsey, Nelta Davis, Yvette Diaboute, Judith Dowell, Gwen Dupree, Kimberly Early, Makeda Ebube’, Emma Effinger, Darlene Flynn, Sarah Freeman, Rita Howard, Debrena Jackson Gandy, Dr. Pamela Greer, Sonja Griffin, Deborah Harris, Dr. M. Jean Harris, Sandra Hart, Pauline Hill, Josephine Howell, Darice Johnson, Dr. Robin Jones, Ruby Jones, Dr. Jutta Joseph, Atieno Kombe, Lynn Lambie, Malika Lee, Dr. Karen Lincoln, Marsha Marnia, Regina Morton, Nefertari I; Dr. Paige Parker, Michelle Perry, Lillie Plummer, Carol Peoples Procter, Chereese Phillips, Dr. Gayle Robinson, Pat Sims, Dr. Margaret Spearmon, Geraldine Staton, Jacqueline Staton, Dr. Debra Sullivan, Dr. Pamela Taylor, Sunni Terry, Charlene Thomas, Donnalyn Thomas, Ta’tanisha Weaver, Patricia Wells ii and Ann Williams. (Post Humous): Geneiva Goudeau Tate, Dr. Zakiya Stewart, Darlene Hillyard and Pat Simms. All of these people have inspired me and together, we revivify African culture and produced a truly African paradigm of what humans ought to be and become. iii Dedication First I give acknowledgement to the Creator, who made me part of a grand ancestral lineage and provided the stamina for me to complete this academic work. Understanding the roots I come from, my family is the rock of my foundation that gave me the courage to do this work. My father, Eddie Louis Tate was an outstanding example of a human being. My mother, Geneiva Goudeau Tate passionately instilled the importance of cultural identity. Together, they taught me to make family my first priority. To my parents, I owe everything that I am and the source of all that I know. The loss of my parents during this academic endeavor left me heartbroken, almost to a point of abandoning this academic journey, for I had intended that this completion would be a dedication to them. Upon their transition to the ancestral realm, it occurred to me that this legacy is for future generations, as much as the past. To my siblings, Don, Azani and Monica, thank you for your role in helping me to shape who I am. To my children Owuor, Ebony, Nia and Geneiva: I feel so blessed to have you divinely chosen as my children! As grown adults, you have picked up the baton as I watch you demonstrate your own brands of leadership. You are the wind beneath my wings! Thank you for your undeniable love and support. I love you madly! To my grandchildren Ashea, Anyango, Opio, Odongo and Sankofa Akello: May you teach your grandchildren to be at home in the land of their ancestors. It is with the greatest humility that I dedicate my scholarship to each of you in hope that you will continue in the tradition of academic excellence. This work would not be possible without the foresight, charisma, and leadership of the co-founder of Cultural Reconnection, the late Phelgona Okundi who passed away in 2003. Along with her husband Eng. Philip Okundi they extended their home, family, love, and patience and iv brought this work into being. Alongside Phelgona was another national treasure and community elder, the late Damarice Ayodo, who supported Cultural Reconnection delegations for more than a decade before passing away in 2014. Our third hostess in the initial delegation was Prisca Ajuang, who passed away in 2016, at the eve of completion of this dissertation. Together, they generously used their reputations to unselfishly usher us through this transformative process. May these women be remembered for generations to come! The love and affirmation I received when I lived in Kenya as part of the Arunga family, is what compelled me to give back as humbly as I knew. I first acknowledge with respect and appreciation, the family patriarch who unequivocally supported cultural reconnection delegations in theory and practice: the late Pastor Elisha Arunga Odero. To Dave Arunga, I thank you for teaching me to see beloved Africa through your lens. Thanks to Dr. Robert Arunga for being present as a gracious family patriarch and for your continued support for Cultural Reconnection. To Petroline and Judith Arunga, many thanks and appreciation for hosting international visitors with open arms. Your leadership, knowledge and love was so generously shared with all, and your enthusiastic welcome was always heartfelt. To all of you, this is my story of unconditional love. v Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the lived experiences of 18 African American women who went to Kenya, East Africa as part of a Cultural Reconnection delegation. A qualitative narrative inquiry method was used for data collection. This was an optimal approach to honoring the authentic voices of African American women. Eighteen African American women shared their stories, revelations, feelings and thoughts on reconnecting in their ancestral homeland of Africa. The literature discussed includes diasporic returns as a subject of study, barriers to the return including the causes of historic trauma, and how Black women as culture bearers have practiced overcoming these barriers by returning to the ancestral homeland. The data revealed that Cultural Reconnection delegations created an enhanced sense of purpose and a greater understanding of their roots and themselves. Participants further experienced a need to give back, participated in womanism, and gained a greater spiritual connection to their ancestors. Stereotypes and myths were