Ota Benga

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

On this day in 1916, Pygmy Ota Benga committed suicide when he learned he could not return to his homeland in the Congo.

 

Benga had become the main attraction at the Bronx Zoo where zoo officials forced him to live with the monkeys in the "Monkey House" portion of the zoo and Whites came to gawk at the African with pointy teeth. A very, very sad story - honoured today for the price he paid in life, the sacrifice of his natural and God given dignity.

Read about Benga's sad story here:http://newsone.com/2293605/ota-benga-story/