1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: All right, ask yourself, what would it be like to 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: be kidnapped, brought to a completely foreign place and put 3 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:11,320 Speaker 1: on public display like you're not even human. It happened 4 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: as recently as the early nineteen hundreds. I'm Patty Steele 5 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: the Human Zoo. Next on the backstory. The backstory is back. 6 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: Imagine your life is in a small African village just 7 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: over one hundred years ago. It's pretty idyllic. All you 8 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: know is family and tribal culture among the Umbuti people, 9 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: like hunting, gathering in the forest, and living with nature 10 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 1: in a sort of isolated world until it all comes undone. 11 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: That was the life of Ota Benga in what was 12 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,560 Speaker 1: then called the Congo Free State and later the Belgian Congo. 13 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 1: It was brutally run by King Leopold of Belgium, who 14 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: enslaved indigenous people into forced labor, brutalizing them if production 15 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 1: wasn't a to snuff with death, torture and even amputation. 16 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: Oda's tribe, the Imboudi people, were the smallest of the 17 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: pygmy tribes in Africa, with adults averaging around four feet 18 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 1: eight inches tall, and so they were looked at as 19 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:18,399 Speaker 1: exotic by westerners. As well as much of the rest 20 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: of the world, and that meant there was money to 21 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: be made above and beyond forced labor in the two 22 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: big local industries, ivory and rubber. Oda was just twenty 23 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,319 Speaker 1: years old and out on a hunting trip when local 24 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: slave traders attacked his village, murdering his wife and two 25 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: little children. When he comes home, he's kidnapped and sold 26 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: into slavery. Now around the same time, American businessman adventurer 27 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: as they called him, Samuel Phillips Werner, is asked to 28 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: travel to Africa to find a group of pigmies to 29 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: bring to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition better known as the 30 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: Saint Louis World's Fair of nineteen oh four. This is 31 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: his mission to bring back exotic people from Africa to 32 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:09,359 Speaker 1: be displayed at the fair's anthropology days. It was talked 33 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: about as a scientific and cultural exhibition, but it was 34 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,919 Speaker 1: really just a money making scheme intent on displaying what 35 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:22,519 Speaker 1: they called the exotic savages from non European cultures. Odabanga 36 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: fits the bill, very small but young and strong, with 37 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 1: teeth that had been sharpened into points as per tribal custom. 38 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: So Verna makes a deal with the slave traders, and 39 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:36,800 Speaker 1: he buys Oda for a bolt of cloth and some salt. 40 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: Werner later claimed that he'd rescued Odebanga from slavery, but 41 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:44,959 Speaker 1: the rescue did not involve any choice on Oda's part. 42 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: So think about it. You're taken from the only home 43 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 1: you've ever known after the murder of your family, stripped 44 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:56,239 Speaker 1: of your identity, and forced into a world you can't 45 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: even comprehend. So Odabanga arrives at the Saint Louis World's Fair. 46 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: It's a massive event with millions of visitors, grand pavilions, 47 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: technological breakthroughs, and human exhibits. There are other individuals as well, 48 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: from other parts of Africa, from the Philippines and other 49 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: colonized areas. They're called a living example of a primitive 50 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: culture and are said to represent the stages of human evolution. 51 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:30,239 Speaker 1: Dressed in minimal clothing and carrying a bow and arrow, 52 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: they're all presented as living examples of prehistoric man. What 53 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: would that feel like? Nothing familiar, including language, clothing, shelter, 54 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: and culture, and fair goers are gawking, laughing and taking 55 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:49,640 Speaker 1: photos of you. They poke, prod and treat you sort 56 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: of like an animal in a zoo, you are simply 57 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: an object of curiosity. Now, after the fair, Verna brought 58 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: Odebanga back to the Congo, where he tried to resettle 59 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: him among another tribe called the Batwa, but it wasn't 60 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 1: his tribe. He married a young woman there who died 61 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: soon after being bitten by a snake. And then in 62 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: nineteen oh six, with his village gone, his family dead, 63 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 1: and the Congo is still a very dangerous place, he 64 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: decides to go with Werner back to the US. Werner 65 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: claims the return is for Oda's safety. He takes him 66 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. 67 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: He basically sells him to them. The museum houses him 68 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: and studies him like a specimen, but he is totally homesick, 69 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: missing nature and everything about his old life in Africa. 70 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:45,720 Speaker 1: Later that same year, it gets even worse. If you 71 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: can imagine that, Oda is moved to the Bronx Zoo, 72 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: where at first he's supposed to maintain the animal habitats, 73 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: but after the head of the zoo sees that people 74 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 1: are more fascinated by Odebanga than by the animals, the 75 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: place him in the monkey house in a cage alongside 76 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:09,640 Speaker 1: an orangutang and other primates. He's primitively dressed and described 77 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: as the missing link between humans and apes. Once again. 78 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 1: For weeks, visitors flocked to see him, staring and laughing 79 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: as he's forced to perform tricks or smile for their cameras. 80 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: The zoo director defends the exhibit, claiming it's a valuable 81 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 1: scientific and educational tool, but black ministers in New York 82 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 1: are furious. They organize protests and write letters demanding Oda's release. 83 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: One minister, Reverend James Gordon, claims the display is dehumanizing 84 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: in a blatant form of modern day slavery, since Oda 85 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: has no freedom to leave. Finally, the zoo releases him. 86 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: Reverend Gordon helps him settle in Brooklyn while he tries 87 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: to get comfortable in American society. He learned some English 88 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: dresses in Western clothing and takes odd jobs to support himself, 89 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 1: but he's still miserable, and in nineteen ten, Reverend Gordon 90 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:08,919 Speaker 1: helps him move to Lynchburg, Virginia, where he lives with 91 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,720 Speaker 1: a black family while working in a tobacco factory. He 92 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 1: is loved in the community. Folks say they knew him 93 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 1: to be kind and curious about others. Now, the problem 94 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,280 Speaker 1: is Oda is still struggling with feelings of isolation. He 95 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: misses Africa, but the outbreak of World War One makes 96 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:32,279 Speaker 1: a return impossible. By nineteen sixteen, his spirit is broken, 97 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 1: unable to go home, and so disillusioned with the life 98 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: he was forced into, he sees no way out, and 99 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: so on March twentieth of nineteen sixteen, Oda borrows a revolver, 100 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: walks into a barn, and takes his own life. He 101 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: was just thirty two years old. Disappointingly, the American Museum 102 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: of Natural History has a life mask and body cast 103 00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 1: of Oda Banga, and the display is still lay Pigmy 104 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: rather than with his name. Ode Benga's life story is 105 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: a stark reminder of the dehumanizing effects of racism, of 106 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: exploiting rather than appreciating and celebrating our differences. I hope 107 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 1: you like the backstory with Patty Steele. I would love 108 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: it if you would subscribe or follow for free to 109 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: get new episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to dm 110 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: me if you have a story you'd like me to cover. 111 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. 112 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:42,600 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. The Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia, 113 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: Premieer Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. 114 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We 115 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to 116 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:57,120 Speaker 1: reach out to me with comments and even story suggestions 117 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at 118 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:04,240 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele. 119 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 1: The pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.