Arwilda Haynes spoke of her own experiences in Ethiopia between 1962 and 1964 as a member of the Peace Corps
Africa alive in city
Many cultures' food, dances rediscovered
BY SHAWN A. HESSINGER
Tamaqua Bureau Chief
shessinger@republicanherald.com
When Carrie L. Gonsalves, Pottsville, cooks up a helping of her mother's spicy Curry Chicken, she leaves it on the bone.
That's because while American tradition holds that only the tender meat is edible, people of the West Indies island of Antigua, where Gonsalves' mother was born, savor the whole domestic fowl, bones and all.
"And the best part is the bone," added Sharon J. Hunter, Pottsville, Gonsalves' sister.
Though their mother was from the Caribbean, the pair were born in England and eventually settled in Pottsville, their father's hometown.
Their own complicated background mirrors that of black Americans everywhere, separated from the land of their forebears by many generations yet bound by strong tradition.
"Don't forget that y'all come from here," Gonsalves said, pointing to a map of Africa, while addressing more than 50 people gathered for an African Sampler, the last in a series of events commemorating Black History Month, held Thursday at the Round House, Seventh Street and Laurel Boulevard, in Pottsville.
"We're just trying to educate the kids. They talk about Africa as if it's all one place," said Arwilda L. Haynes, a Schuylkill County assistant district attorney and member of the African-American Heritage Coalition, which co-sponsored the event.
Instead, the African Sampler event strove to give students a look at the diversity and enormity of the African-American heritage.
After Gonsalves had finished a presentation consisting of a video about Antigua and a sampling of soca music, a modern uptempo form of calypso, Haynes spoke of her own experiences in Ethiopia between 1962 and 1964 as a member of the Peace Corps.
Haynes recalled her surprise at witnessing more traditional black hairstyles like the "afro" and "cornrows" at a time when American blacks were still trying to imitate white hairstyles.
"When I went there all we African-American women were still packing our straightening combs and hot plates," she recalled.
Wrapped in a white shamma, a traditional Ethiopian garment, Haynes spoke of her first time eating duro wat, a spicy chicken stew with onions and other seasonings served with injera, a kind of large flat bread.
While eating from a large communal injera platter, partakers are expected to dip the stew with the bread without getting any on their fingers.
"The first time I ate it in Ethiopia, tears ran down my face," said Haynes, adding that she had toned down her own recipe, which she served afterward to visitors.
Haynes also spoke of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I, who later became a hero and near deity of Rastafarianism, a Biblically-based religion of Jamaica.
Another high point of the evening was a performance by the step team Quiet Storm of Penn State's Schuylkill Campus.
Fourteen of the 21-member team created an infectious rhythm of clapping, stomping and chanting to enthusiastic applause.
"We just make our own rhythm with our hands and our feet," said team captain Ruqayyah D. Zaiyin, 19, of Philadelphia.
She said the team holds two practices a week, about two hours each, and performs at schools, Penn State campuses and malls.
"Wherever they ask us to come," she added.
Students also learned about the many familiar foods originating from Ghana, on the West Coast of Africa.
Children's librarian Carol A. Orlick, of the Pottsville Free Library, made various recipes featuring peanuts, coconuts and sweet potatoes.
Other staple crops include bananas and a product with an important tie to the state of Pennsylvania - cocoa used in Hershey chocolate bars.
Orlick also talked about books on Africa available from the library.
Lanique M. Golphin, Pottsville, prepared a traditional dish from Kenya, highlighting that country's culture.
The dish contains beef, pineapple, curry powder, onion, green pepper, cornstarch and egg yoke with a side dish of green onions, raisins and peanuts.
