Historian, Anthropologist and Sierra Leone RPCV Joseph Opala

• 2008.11.21: November 21, 2008: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: All Africa: Historian Joseph Opala Connects African Nation to Gullah Community Through a Slave Girl Named Priscilla  Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 1:09 pm [1]

• 2008.09.20: September 20, 2008: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Patriotic Vanguard: Joseph Opala created an exhibit on Bunce Island, which will be on display at the Heritage Days symposium  Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 11:10 am [1]

• 2007.03.14: March 14, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Rocktown Weekly: Joseph Opala and Gary Chatelain work on a computerized model of Bunce Island, an 18th century British slave castle in the Republic of Sierra Leone on the West African coast  Saturday, April 28, 2007 - 5:17 pm [1]

• 2006.11.03: November 3, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Daily Campus: The international community has invested over a billion dollars in Sierra Leone, but according to Joseph Opala, they may have done more harm than good  Monday, November 06, 2006 - 11:07 am [1]

• 2006.11.06: November 6, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Native American Issues: UConn Advance: Joseph Opala has spent much of his career studying the people who became known as Black Seminoles and their language, called Gullah  Wednesday, November 15, 2006 - 11:21 am [2]

• 2005.05.03: May 3, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Hartford Courant : "You are an idiot," the U.S. ambassador told Joseph Opala  Sunday, August 13, 2006 - 11:26 am [1]

• 2006.07.06: July 6, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Voice of America: Joseph Opala says The Gullah Have Roots in Sierra Leone Friday, July 07, 2006 - 11:07 am [1]

• 2006.06.09: June 9, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: All Africa: Concord Times Speaks to Joseph Opala  Monday, July 03, 2006 - 11:53 pm [1]

• November 26, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Slavery: Museums: Harrisonburg Daily News Record: Jospeh Opala Gathers 249 Years Of Documentation To Bring Seven Generations Together  Monday, December 05, 2005 - 9:29 pm [1]

• November 23, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Slavery: Museums: BBC: Priscilla's extraordinary story is featured in a major exhibition currently showing at the New York Historical Society  Monday, December 05, 2005 - 9:27 pm [1]

• November 17, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Slavery: Museums: Amsterdam News: Since 1997, Professor Opala has been working with author Edward Ball on tracing Priscilla’s African roots Friday, December 02, 2005 - 12:22 pm [1]

• November 15, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Slavery: Museums: Newsday: Joseph Opala's New York exhibit showcases rare paper trail tracing the family tree of a slave  Friday, December 02, 2005 - 12:20 pm [1]

• November 9, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Slavery: Museums: Ascribe: Priscilla's Children: Jospeh Opala's Slavery Research Exhibited at New York City Museum  Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - 10:16 pm [1]

• September 4, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Providence Journal: Joseph Opala helps plan itinerary to historic sites throughout Georgia and South Carolina  Sunday, September 04, 2005 - 1:21 pm [1]

• June 8, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: National Geographic: "What makes Priscilla's Homecoming so special, and likely not to be repeated, is that Thomalind can trace her ancestry literally from the day the slave ship left Sierra Leone on April 9, 1756, to the present moment," said Joseph Opala, a historian at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. "We're dealing with a 249-year paper trail."  Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 4:28 pm [1]

• May 20, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: All Africa: "Priscilla's home coming" is a documentary project currently being undertaken by Professor Joseph Opala, a researcher whose contribution in rewriting the history of Sierra Leone was first appreciated in 1989 and in 1997 with film documentaries that chronicled Gullah "homecoming". Wednesday, May 25, 2005 - 5:26 pm [1]

• May 19, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: All Africa: Through the efforts of an American Anthropologist Joseph Opala, Priscilla's link with Sierra Leone have been discovered.  Wednesday, May 25, 2005 - 5:25 pm [1]

• April 14, 2005: Headlines: Figures: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Providence Journal: Joseph Opala to speak on Newport and Charleston: Early Connections" on April 19  Sunday, April 17, 2005 - 7:01 pm [1]

• February 13, 2005: Headlines: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Slavery: Providence Journal Bulletin: Priscilla, a slave story - researched by Joseph Opala - She was stolen from Africa. And brought to America, in a ship owned by Rhode Island merchant (Part 1)  Friday, February 18, 2005 - 9:28 pm [1]

• February 14, 2005: Headlines: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Slavery: Providence Journal Bulletin: With the from the University of Sierra Leone, Opala opened an archaeology lab in 1977 and began unearthing more artifacts in sites around the village of Bumbuna (Part 2)  Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 2:39 pm [3]

• February 13, 2005: Headlines: COS - Sierra Leone: Anthropology: African American Issues: Slavery: Providence Journal Bulletin: Priscilla, a slave story - researched by Joseph Opala  Friday, February 18, 2005 - 9:23 pm [1]

RPCV Joseph Opala (Sierra Leone)



RPCV Joseph Opala (Sierra Leone)

• RPCV Joseph Opala (Sierra Leone): Sierra Leone RPCV Joseph Opala plans to film a documentary of the trip to Sierra Leone, which organizers have dubbed "Priscilla's Homecoming" 31 January 2005

When this story was posted in February 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 27,000 index entries in 430 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today.

Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

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February 5, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Peace Corps swears in 12 new Country Directors 4 Feb Kenneth Hawkinson studies oral traditions of Mali 4 Feb Tony Hall urges politicians to bring religious faith to office 4 Feb Dodd opposes Gonzales nomination 3 Feb Dr. Robert Zeigler to head Rice Research Institute 3 Feb Taylor Hackford going into television with "E-Ring" 2 Feb President Bush's past promises in State of the Union 1 Feb Moreigh Wolf says gays cannot volunteer with partners 1 Feb Coleman to chair Peace Corps Subcommittee 1 Feb Vasquez assesses need in Southeast Asia 31 Jan James Bullington says Bush Inaugural speaks to PC 31 Jan Allen Andersson creates foundation to promote libraries 31 Jan Joseph Opala to film "Priscilla's Homecoming" 31 Jan Donna Shalala embarks on aggressive UM expansion 31 Jan Thomas Dichter says Poor Countries Need Smarter Aid 30 Jan Alberto Ibargüen to head Knight Foundation 28 Jan Helen Sheehy organizes "Endangered Peoples" exhibit 28 Jan

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RPCVs mobilize support for Countries of Service RPCV Groups mobilize to support their Countries of Service. Over 200 RPCVS have already applied to the Crisis Corps to provide Tsunami Recovery aid, RPCVs have written a letter urging President Bush and Congress to aid Democracy in Ukraine, and RPCVs are writing NBC about a recent episode of the "West Wing" and asking them to get their facts right about Turkey.

RPCVs contend for Academy Awards Bolivia RPCV Taylor Hackford's film "Ray" is up for awards in six categories including best picture, best actor and best director. "Autism Is a World" co-produced by Sierra Leone RPCV Douglas Biklen and nominated for best Documentary Short Subject, seeks to increase awareness of developmental disabilities. Colombian film "El Rey," previously in the running for the foreign-language award, includes the urban legend that PCVs teamed up with El Rey to bring cocaine to U.S. soil.

Ask Not As our country prepares for the inauguration of a President, we remember one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century and how his words inspired us. "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

Coleman: Peace Corps mission and expansion Senator Norm Coleman, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee that oversees the Peace Corps, says in an op-ed, A chance to show the world America at its best: "Even as that worthy agency mobilizes a "Crisis Corps" of former Peace Corps volunteers to assist with tsunami relief, I believe an opportunity exists to rededicate ourselves to the mission of the Peace Corps and its expansion to touch more and more lives."

RPCVs active in new session of Congress In the new session of Congress that begins this week, RPCV Congressman Tom Petri has a proposal to bolster Social Security, Sam Farr supported the objection to the Electoral College count, James Walsh has asked for a waiver to continue heading a powerful Appropriations subcommittee, Chris Shays will no longer be vice chairman of the Budget Committee, and Mike Honda spoke on the floor honoring late Congressman Robert Matsui.

Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help?

The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005.

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