Lois Fernandez, Cultural Icon

 

 

 

ODUNDE (Translation - "Happy New Year"), as an "idea", started around halfway around the world in the early 70s as it was carried — by Lois Fernandez— a woman who is big in spirit — from Oshogbo, Nigeria to South Philadelphia. Each year it comes back full circle. Similar to processions that take place in Oshogbo, there is a large gathering of people processing to the river to make a special offering. ODUNDE!!! They shout before it begins to get the crowd moving along. The shouts turn into songs from Nigeria. Excitement brews as the music plays, masqueraders dance and the huge crowd of processors move higher on South Street to the South Street Bridge to temporarily transform the Schulykill into a sacred body of water that is receptive to sweets, fruits and cakes. The songs that carried the procession the rest of the way to the river turns into quiet prayers. Exciting? Definitely! It is also called "Beautiful." That is part of the essence of ODUNDE as well. It has grown along this way for quite some time now and it still continues to grow and expand. On June 9th ODUNDE celebrated it’s 38th year! The celebration that began almost 4 decades ago is quickly moving towards a landmark 40-year celebration in less than 2 short years. I had the priveledge and honor of speaking with founder, Lois Fernandez about the celebration. She shared the beginings of ODUNDE. Read along to find out how the celebration traveled with her from Oshogbo, Nigeria to South Philadelphia and has long impacted the city and communities and how it is continuing to grown - daily!

Light for the Journey!

 

 

 

 

Chekejai: ODUNDE just celebrated the 38th year and quickly it’s moving towards year 39.

L. Fernandez: Yes

 

Chekejai: That is fabulous and very exciting! Congratulations! I read somewhere that you got the idea for ODUNDE from other festivals that you had attended on the continent (Africa).

L. Fernandez: Actually, I got the idea for ODUNDE when I went to Nigeria in 1971 and I was told about a festival that they have there. Every year, around August, they had a festival there for Osun (a force of love, beauty and creativity). I had met the artist [Prince] Twins Seven Seven when I first got to Nigeria — into where he lived — called Oshogbo. I had been on a bus. As I got off the bus he was there. He had brought somebody in to catch another bus. We exchanged niceties and he asked me about myself. When I told him that I was trying to find a place to live — I told him, ‘I came there to learn and to see Nigeria because I had heard about the Osun Festival’ – He said, "oh really? Well let me take you some place where you can find a place to stay." I have a sister who was living in Uganda. (Sidebar: I left Tanzania, went to Uganda just as a layover). Twins said, "I’ll show you Nigeria, Oshogbo." I first went into Lagos and then I took the bus to Oshogbo, which is a small town. I attached to Twins Seven Seven and he ended up being one of Nigeria’s very famous artists. He became pretty well-known, I would guess worldwide. In Europe, what-have-you, he ended up traveling. Twins had a good sense for communication. He could talk. He has since transitioned (died). But there I am in Nigeria — not knowing anybody anyhow. I stayed there in Oshogbo, Twins got me a place to stay. I ended up going to different events and meeting some people, not knowing any people. I must have stayed in Oshogbo for at least about a week and a half or two weeks. I didn’t stay in Lagos that long. I stayed in Oshogbo. Oshogbo was a little town and it had a lot of culture in it. That’s why I was glad that I had heard about Oshogbo and Oshogbo artist.

 

Chekejai: The Oshogbo Artist?

 

L. Fernandez: There was a white woman named, Susanne Wenger. She had a stable of African artist, Nigerian artist. She used to be married a German guy named to Ulli Beier and together they came and had a hold on the artist, as I saw it, in Nigeria. They had a whole staple of Nigerian artist. They were controlling all of the art — in my view — that was coming out of Nigeria. I think they were artist too, though I’m not sure but for a Nigerian artist to do anything they had to go see Susan or Ulli Beier. I know they were married at one time but by the time I got there she had married a Nigerian and he had married another European but they were both very involved in the African art in Lagos, in Oshogbo, in Nigeria period.

 

Chekejai: How did you come to think of bringing the idea of the festival from Oshogbo to Philadelphia?

L. Fernandez: Twins and I had a conversation; He was telling me about the Osun Festival. He gave me a photo of him at the Osun Festival. I said, ‘Wow! This is wonderful! It looks like something that we can do in Philadelphia.’ I remember saying that to him. My neighbor and I used to often talk about that as well as my sister and brother-in-law. We need to have something down here on this corner at Grays Ferry and South Street. Particularly my neighbor Ruth and I. We used to say we need to have something here. I said, that would be wonderful to bring an Osun Festival to our South Philadelphia neighborhood. That was 1971 — beginning of 1972.

 

Chekejai: The first ODUNDE Festival occured in 1975. How did it actually come to be?

L. Fernandez: In 1975, working for the city — Department of Welfare at the time they changed it to Department of Human Services — they had this thing called ‘The Renaissance’ or something they were going to do — maybe the Art Department was going to do it...the city (of Philadelphia) was doing it. Young white women were directing it and I said, let me go talk to them to see if we can get that for our neighborhood here. I went and met with them, talked to them. I told them that we wanted to do something on the street - a little street festival just 1 block – that’s what I was thinking, that’s all we did at that time. We didn’t call it ODUNDE - it was The Osun Festival. I told them, the thing is, we want to go to the river. They said, "the river?" ‘Yeah, we want to go across the bridge to the river.’ They thought that was strange. I said, ‘we want to do something like what I saw in Nigeria,’ even though I wasn’t with them when they had made the offering — I just knew about it.

 

Chekejai: Did you know any other Yoruba people?

L. Fernandez: There were Yorubas in NY who I first met. I’m going to back to 1963 there was a Temple at 116th Street in New York City — that’s when I first l learned about the Yorubas. Subsequently my sister married one of the men, my brother-in-law. He was part of the founding. The man who had the Temple was Nana Oseijeman — a well known priest. He was the first person that I ever saw in full African attire — this is back in the 60s. My first knowledge of the Yoruba religion and the Temple were through the people out of NYC. They came to Philly In 1963 and had a program at the Y [MCA] on Christian Street. They took my head when I saw them all dressed in African clothing and they were singing these different songs. I’ll never forget that it moved me so deeply. Somehow we stayed in contact. My sister ended up marring in 1965 and they had a Yoruba wedding. [I] just kept being involved with them, just becoming aware of the culture and I just thought it was so key and important. So when this thing came up with the city — ‘The Renaissance’ I said we should be able to have something!

 

When I first went to get the permits - the women laughed at me. I left that office and I spoke to two women in my office (Department of Welfare). I told them about what we wanted to do. I told the women that we wanted to go across the bridge and that we want to make an offering to the river. They were impressed. They said, "We think that would be wonderful and different!" They thought that I had a big brainy idea and they were so gung-ho to help and they did! They got everything! They got the permits! I was going to have a hard time. They were right on it! They said, we’ll take care of this. I had it made! We got permits. I said who got the last laugh because we sure went across that bridge and went to the river! It was April that year (1975). My Boo (referring to her daughter Oshunbumi, the CFO of ODUNDE and ODUNDE365) was just 1-years-old. So here we go on a cool April day. Our first poster in 1976 was of us walking down South Street. April of 1975. Everyone had on coats.

 

Chekejai: When did you change the time to June?

L. Fernandez: We decided to change it to the 2nd Sunday in June the next year - that is more of our weather. Good weather. We had children from community group - school aged groups. We told the parents and women in our group that we would like for the children to go in traditional African attire and that what we can do so that there is no expense - we can wrap them in fabric. We taught them the song ODUNDE by Olotunji and as they left the house. We left from my house. I was living on Madison Square at the time. As we got to South Street - across the bridge, they sang that song. We made our offering and came back. At that time ODUNDE was only 1 block. 2300 block of South Street.

 

Chekejai: How did you come up with the decorations for the event?

L. Fernandez: Arthur Hall was very key. He came to help us decorate. He put up banners he brought his dance troupe. We had drummers - Baba Crowder, Wilkie (respected drummers in the city of Philadelphia) was there.

 

Chekejai: You had a lot of creative and cultural giants and input from such giants from the start - such as earlier mentioned Prince Twins Seven Seven, Melvin Deal and Arthur Hall.

L. Fernandez: Every year Melvin Deal would come and bring his whole company. He would come from Washington, D.C. and bring like 2 or 3 vans!We didn’t have any money then! They would volunteer! Authur Hall! Everyone just came.

My brother-in law got Melvin Deal - he left us dancing in the street! I will never forget.

 

Chekejai: When was the turning point? When did it become such a large event?

L. Fernandez: 1977 - it exploded!!! By then there were more vendors and more space.

 

Chekejai: A lot of this you initaited but did you have a partner?

L. Fernandez: My neighbor Ruth Arthur was a partner, my sister Laura, my brother-in-law - Oba. We are all a part of it in the beginning. None of them went to Africa. I went to all of them. They had no idea but they were all in agreement. Especially when I saw the opportunity posted in my office. That’s how we had the first one in 1975 under the Renaissance. SO when the opportunity presented itself I thought that we could do it right here in the triangle at 23rd and South. We pulled it off - it was wondeful. It wasn’t big but it was thrilling.

 

Chekejai: Vending is huge at ODUNDE. There are all kinds of vendors - food, clothes, music, art and so much more. Did it begin with a lot of vending?

L. Fernandez:  We had the school kids, the neighbors came out and they were selling things. A lady from our community group called the Southwest Center City Community Center - the women of that organization supported it. We had our own children and we were able to dress them up. The women put money in so that we could buy some hot dogs to sell. We ended up selling to ourselves (she says with a light chuckle). We had a table out there - wasn’t really nobody out there. We didn’t know anything about big time vending back in those days and vending wasn’t big back in those days so it was limited in term of vendors. Vending wasn’t big back in those days.

 

Chekejai: What inspired you to go to Africa?

L. Fernandez:  I’ve always wanted to go. I borrowed! They said that I was obsessed. I said, ‘I got to go to Africa!’ I borrowed money. I got my mother to take care of my son. I ended up going for three weeks. My sister was living in Tanzania at the time. She had married a Namibian. I got there and it was unreal! In the 70s there were a lot of freedom fighters that were based in Tanzanian at the time. A lot of them from Mozambique. Julius Nyerere was the president. mhe would allow them to be there - like SWAPO. In the evening - you could go downtown where they would gather. An exciting time to be in Tanzania! Any night you could go out and all you saw were freedom fighters and gatherings for freedom fighters - an exciting time to be in Tanzania! A lot of women were there just traveling. Particularly in Tanzania.

 

Chekejai: Bumi is doing a phenominal job with continuing with your legacy and expanding on what you’ve done so many years ago with community programming centered around ODUNDE. How do you feel about how the work is being carried forth?

L. Fernandez: I am just so blessed and honored that she has taken the helm. a lot of times you start an organization and there is no one to pass it on to. I can’t think of how many things have died, especially in our community. So this is just a blessing. And to add her own touch such as the I Am B.U.M.I. (Beautiful Unique Magnificent Individual) program for girls and ODUNDE365 is so key. It makes the statement that ODUNDE is more than just a festival.

 

Chekejai: You have also —in the past — reached out to schools and musuems, developed relationships with those schools and museums and you’ve sent in dance teachers to teach dance classes for children in the 90s.

L. Fernandez:We had outreach programs so it’s good to have Bumi operate all year around. If it’s reaching out, it’s key to the future of ODUNDE so I am grateful that she has taken it to the next level and beyond.

 

Chekejai: She is propelling things forward and working on the next generation.

L. Fernandez:A young mind with stirring creativity keeps ODUNDE alive.

 

Chekejai: Yes it does! Thank you so much for giving me some of your time and thanks for all that you have done for the community and for keeping the culture.

L. Fernandez:Oh Sure!

Check Out My Music

Renee McBride-Williams

Art for Life's Sake

Chekejai: Some folks know Renee McBride-Williams as being the host of Shed Kitchen on WPEB 88.1 FM, community radio station in  West Philadelpia.  She is also the manager of that very station as well as a site organizer for the Media Mobilizing Project. Renee McBride-Williams has a long history in the media as well as in education.  She has worked for National Public Radio (NPR) and has helped produce for LaSalle University television station. She worked as an educator for the School District of Philadelphia and she is the recent recipient of a Community Leadership Award which was presented to her by the Moorish Unification Council of the World, inc.  She is also in the artistic realm on various levels.  Mrs. Williams has performed in the George C. Wolfe Play, “The Colored Museum.” She is on the board of Center Stage at the Annenberg Center of the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Clef Club, National Jazz Museum in Harlem and for the John Coltrane Society.

She has been in artist management and has studied and worked with well-know artist and performers such as Christian McBride, Paul Perillo, ?uest Love of Da Roots and Brian Anthony Wilson of The Wire.

She is currently merging her broadcast background and talents with her acting and perfomance background to create a radio theater show aimed at creatively educating youth. It is my distinct honor and pleasure to introduce Renee McBride Williams . Welcome to the Designing Sistas.

Renee: Thank you

Chekejai: So let’s talk about your artistry.  You’ve done stage work and you do so much in the arts – how did you get your start?

 

Renee: I was a natural born entertainer. I was one of those kids who, if you can imagine, came downstairs to entertain my mother’s friends with the Twist.  I did the Twist and the Slide or whatever was popular at the time. It was to keep myself from being bored. I loved to read and I watched television and I would repeat the words that I heard the artist say. I thought that their dialogue was great. Some of the old films that I used to watch – my favorites – like “Sunset Boulevard” and “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” and even some of the old Elvis movies where you found out that the artist became an actor as well. That was before I realized that I was Black and some of the stuff I wasn’t invited into (she says with a smile and light laughter).  I say that lovingly. I’m not angry with the past and the history that I came through. 

I came to a point where I realized that I wasn’t necessarily just going to be a cook or a wife or have the most traditional lifetimes, lifestyles, I guess. It wasn’t for me.  

Growing up I played the violin for a while. The teacher would say “ah, Renee you need to [lead] this group and, you go up front into the 1^st chair.”   I went from there to other instruments to wanting to be a drummer and a singer.

Chekejai: A drummer?! Hearing that, especially from women is very rare.

Renee: Yeah! I was taught how to hold drum sticks and carry a beat by some of the world’s most famous artist and musicians.  One was (Ramon) Tiki Fulwood of Parliament when they first started and Jerry Brown who is now working with Diana Ross.  He was out there with Stanley Clarke.  A lot of these guys and  Mary Barbara Washington were MFSB [Mother, Father, Sister, Brother]. All these guys taught me how to play. So believe it or not I could carry a beat for a while.  On the other side of that, they said to me “you can sing too so let’s try to get you to do some of that stuff.” But needless to say, when you get involved with the entertainment industry some other things become more important.  My son was born before I got old enough to really enjoy the arts as a young person.  I was a teenager when I had him. I went into my early 20s with a child so he became my focus.  He became my “star” so-to-speak. I used to put “star” t-shirts on him not knowing that one day he would become just that. I would to sing, “I Want to Take You Higher” to him. To answer your question – In order to bring food to the table – in an order to keep from going crazy – I had to work and then I had to find some sort of hobby that I enjoyed more than anything that kept me alive. Raising a child was the most important job that I ever had. I knew that my dedication was to him and only him at the time and then I had to be true to myself and make Renee happy. So besides working I wound up doing some stage stuff. When I wasn’t doing that I became a personal manager for some artist because I could make those phone calls and do some of those bookings. I knew exactly who to talk to to get the lessons. The people to talk to to get the movement going as far as the entertainment industry was concerned.  I drifted into a lot of these jobs haphazardly and to be honest it was nothing planned. It was just one of those things where the doors opened and it said, ”walk in” and I did.  That’s how that actually happened.

Chekejai: so the doors to the arts opened to you almost immediately? 

Renee: My brother was working in radio for a lot of years. And he was well respected.  I grew up with Jack Jones as well and Ed Bradley, and all those guys, and Frankie Beverly.  All of us had a take -- and there are so many names that I could throw on and on and on— the music industry as well as theater. In theater you had community theater.  You had a lot of different things going on.  You could be creative and love it. People cheered for you. Even if you were lousy they clapped for you. You didn’t have the gong show — it changed everything — but for the most part the doors opened. So that’s how I wound up in the field that I’m in now.

Chekejai: It sounds like you derived a lot of inspiration from almost anywhere.

Renee: Yes, you had to. Honestly speaking, in the era that I came up in there wasn’t too much for women— much less encouragement. And if you were a woman of color — I would say because my birth certificate was checked off as “Negro” When or then we started calling each other “Black.” Until James Brown came with, “I’m Black and I’m Proud,” there was a fight that was going to happen if someone called you “Black.”  We didn’t have quite the identity that we have today. At that time we really didn’t know how we were going to do what we did. Because we were still marching.  We were still going into the back door in some places and still afraid to go down Route 13.  Some people know what I am talking about.  There was a place outside of Philadelphia where I had an ashtray thrown on me and they told me to “get out of the neighborhood!” this was in Havertown [Pa]. Today Havertown is truly intergrated but you knew that there was a segregation in entertainment.  You knew that right here at home we had the Nixon , the Uptown and all these venues where they would welcome the African American artist or the Black artist or the Negro artist. You had role models – Angela Davis who taught you how to be outspoken about your beliefs right or wrong, you had a right to be wrong. Then we had many of the writers and poets.  It changed. The revolution was really a revolution within the culture itself where women began to identify with the fact that they were a part of the culture too. Prior to that – you were going to pretty much wind up getting married, having kids, maybe graduating from high school. College was for the elite African American. It wasn’t grants out there until after the Vietnam war was over. By that time many women had started going into college. It changed our whole society and culture. As far as the arts are concerned we were welcome there.  It wasn’t the same for African American women – it was a greater fight. So the fight was on! I had a child at the same time.  I was determined (in reference to her son) at the time that as a black male he was going to be confident in what he did and he was going to be good at what he did. I had to try to kick open doors, open doors do whatever it was that was necessary to help create the person that he is today. I knew that there would be maybe no reward for it.  I knew at the time there would be a lot of punishment, maybe some hardship prices that I had to pay myself.  At times I had to say, “I can’t do that any more.” I had to take a secular job. I had to work somewhere to make sure that he had money for his lessons and basses and so forth and so on.  But it was a good call. It made it easier to be able to express myself because it was a fight. It was a battle. Sometimes your angry, sometimes you hurt, sometimes your disappointed, so you have to come out victorious and at the same time make sure that you don’t wind up dying in the process. Or wind up losing your mind. It’s a difficult road to take but one that I am ready now to share because it really wasn’t that hard. Sometimes the doors did open at the right time if I met the right people at the right time,  In the right places at the right time. God’s gifts – I utilized and He gave them back as blessings. So I’m thankful for those things today. So that’s how I wound up in arts and music to express how I felt cause I was there!

 

Chekejai: Now I don’t know if you are old enough to remember the Black Arts Movement but maybe there are some people who have been in your circle who may have shared some stories that have impacted your life. Do you have any stories from that time? 

 

Renee: One friend in particular is Ed Smith, that I want to talk about.  I talk about him. He just finished doing “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” down in Texas.  He’s done a lot of work in directorships in many community theaters here (in Philly) and in NY and in Texas.  He and I talk quite a bit. We say that it’s not all that people imagine that it is.  When you support one another and we can look at each other as the characters that we are, the people that we are.  When I look at you I don’t see a Black woman, I see a woman who is a part of the human race.  You have those rights and those emotions and those feelings that you have because you are a woman is just because it’s who you are.

We talk about things that go on in society.  For example we protest today.  We had those same protest, different prices. At the time people hollered and screamed because the price of potato chips went from a nickel to twenty-five cent (she says with light laughter).  So we laugh at some of that stuff. We have greater sums of money and I would like to say that we became accustomed to a better lifestyle that’s being taken away from us little-by-little.  We’re hollering and screaming.  The same thing we did 20 years ago, 40 years ago, 60 years ago. So, for the most part the inspiration is that people can share my pain, or share my laughter.

Chekejai: I can’t thank you enough for being our special guest today on Designing Sistas.  It was trul a wonderful honor to have you.  Thanks for sharing so much of yourself with us.

Renee: It was wonderful to be here.