“Like me, you’ve seen the brightly colored cloth worn by many African-Americans but might not have known what it’s called. Well, it’s called kente cloth and some students at Crenshaw High School are learning a great deal about it and the culture that surrounds it.
The class, which is a collaboration between UCLA’s Fowler Museum and Crenshaw High’s art department, is called “Wrapped in Pride: Ghanaian Kente and African American Identity.” The year-long course of studies teaches the students about the arts in their community and how kente cloth is used. Some of the students’ work documenting the uses of the cloth may be included in a museum exhibit in 1999.
Byron Williams, a 17-year-old senior, said he was very happy to be learning about the African people after watching many TV shows about African wildlife. He explained that the cloth originates in Africa from the Asanti tribe in Ghana and is handmade on a loom by men and women.
Danielle Smith, 18, said she learned that Ghanaians dress up in kente cloth the same way an American might wear a tuxedo or a fancy gown. The bright colors each have special significance.
Monique Lane, 16, said she is glad to be working with the program not just because of the cultural awareness involved but also because she wanted to work with the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. Monique would like to one day attend UCLA and this class has given her the chance to work with museum staff on the campus. Knowing that her work might be exhibited at the museum in 1999 gave Monique great pride and an added incentive to work harder.
African-Americans wear kente cloth in the form of hats, sashes, ties or create upholstery or decorations for religious purposes, such as Christmas or Easter, or secular celebrations, such as Kwanzaa, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Black History Month, school events or other special occasions.”
