Ola Akinmowo

Description

Ola has lived in Brooklyn for 11 years. She was born in Brooklyn but her parents moved her and their family when she was 3. As a kid, she moved a lot, living in places like New Jersey, Nigeria, and Indiana. As an adult, she lived in Harlem/Washington Heights area of Manhattan then moved to Brooklyn. Her parents are from Nigeria—father came to the United States to go to college and mother followed him from Nigeria. They moved here with hope, wanting to achieve the American Dream. Growing up it was hard for her toe stablish a sense of home because she moved so much, but was able to establish it as an adult in Bedford-Stuyvesant. As kid, she felt uprooted, anxious, always prepared for something to happen. School also was not comfortable, with teenagers involved in friendship cliques which were hard to infiltrate because she moved a lot. Home also did not feel safe. Ola did not feel much connection to a Nigerian community in the United States---the most consistent presence was the Christian church. Her parents were very involved in church, but Ola never felt a connection to church or religion growing up. Ola always felt drawn to making the world a better place. First, as a teenager she was very interested in the deteriorating ozone layer and environmentalism. Then, in college, she confronted social justice issues around racism and patriarchy. This was an eye opening experience. Ola speaks about the importance of the ideas of Assata Shakur...

From Collection

2016 Weeksville Heritage Center Oral History Series