The Ocean Beach Library will play host a special program on Monday, Feb. 25 in honor of Black History Month. African-American folk artist Kunama Mtendaji will perform drum music, stories, chants, songs and participatory dance in a cultural outreach set for 1 to 1:45 p.m.
“He wears traditional garb, he does traditional chants,” said Branch Manager Matt Beatty. “The thing is, we’ve been trying to do some diverse programming here for a while and I thought it would be really interesting to do this.”
A St. Louis native, Mtendaji’s grandmother taught him storytelling and oral tradition at an early age.
“On my father’s side, that’s where the professional musicians are, the guitar players and the poets and these other kind of artists, so I was just born into that kind of family,” Mtendaji said. “I feel very blessed that I’m very close to the country. My parents were from a small community (Fulton, Mo.), so I spent my summers there. I live [in] city, country, city.”
From the cosmopolitan environment of the city to the slower pace of the country, he said he brings both facets of his personality to performances.
“I’ve been to Africa, I’ve been to Nigeria and Ghana,” Mtendaji said. “I’ve spent time in the Caribbean as well, so I’m familiar [with various folk artistry].”
He will be playing West African percussion, jembe and shekere (gourd rattle), among other instruments of the African Diaspora.
“I’ll begin with some historical reference to the fact that most of us, our ancestors came from West Africa,” Mtendaji said. “I’ll be performing for a lot of children, so with that will be storytelling that will involve funny tales, animal tales, but it will be spiced with the historical perspectives of things that really happened. Then I deal with our heritage, people that were very, very significant in building black culture in this country.”
Beatty said they expect four classes of first- and second-graders from Ocean Beach Elementary School to join in the celebration.
“It’ll be a great way for them to learn stuff,” Beatty said. “They like to do things that are sort of hands-on over at Ocean Beach Elementary. So I think it’ll really link in well with the programs they have over there for Black History Month.”
All ages are encouraged to attend, but Beatty said it is often easier to get children to come to programs than adults.
“Even though there aren’t that many kids comparatively, there’s a really high family interest,” Beatty said.
Despite the fact that Ocean Beach doesn’t have a large minority population, Beatty said residents should be open to people of all backgrounds.
“That’s part of what being Ocean Beach is,” he said. “They (the kids) need to be able to see different cultures because they’re going to have people from all different cultures living next door. People from all over the world come to Ocean Beach.”
Mtendaji said he tries to teach people to respect the culture.
“Although primarily what I do is of African descent, is African American, is African,” he said, “all cultures have values in common. And those values in common are the ones that will allow us to have some world peace and respect. There’s values of getting along, working together, peace, treating each other right, working hard, a sense of being accomplished, finish what you start.”
He explains to participants what each movement is for and why they are doing it.
“It’s an intergenerational thing, and so when they do that, they begin to get it and feel it and understand it on another kind of level,” Mtendaji said.
The Ocean Beach Library is located at 4801 Santa Monica Ave. For information, call (619) 531-1532.