Community News B 1
Exchanging cultures/promoting goodwill
WFU
professor
to teach in Niger
By YVETTE N. FREEMAN
Chronicle Staff Writer
Dr. Debra Boyd-Buggs is African- American, and
although she was born and raised in Washington, D.C.,
she also considers Senegal, West Africa as her home.
And for the next year, the country of Niger will also
become her home, as a result of a Fulbright Fellowship.
Boyd-Buggs, who is an associate professor of
French and African Studies at Wake Forest University,
was awarded the grant by the J. William Fulbright
Scholarship Board and the United States Information
Agency, in March, to lecture and conduct research.
"It's to promote cultural exchange; to promote
goodwill between nations; between the United States
and other nations. It's a great opportunity for a scholar,
or professor or student in this country to go and share
and learn about another culture, and also to take what
ever it is that they have, to share with those people. So
it's a wonderful program," stated Boyd-Buggs.
She will be one of about 1,800 U.S. grantees who
will travel overseas for the 1991-92 academic school
year under the pro^am.
While in Niger, Boyd-Buggs will teach American
Literature at the University De Niamey in Niamey, and
although she will be doing a service to the United
States, she will also be fulfilling a personal goal. She
says that she is currently working on a manuscript on
"Islam and the creative imagination in Francophone
West African fiction. And teaching in Niger will give
me an opportunity to examine the literature of Niger,
^which is primarily a Muslim literature. And I would"
like to incorporate the literature of Niger in this exten
sive study that I'm doing." Boyd-Buggs added that she
wants "to make some type of lasting contribution to the
field, so that other people who come after me can use
this book to learn more about the people of Niger, and
about the literature of Niger, which is a literature that's
not well known in the United States primarily because
it's in French." '
Boyd-Buggs has been teaching at Wake Forest for
two years now, specifically African and Caribbean lit
erature in the department of Romance languages. She
was a North Carolina Scholar (Post-Doctoral Fellow),
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for
two years. She also taught for one year at North Caroli
na Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount prior to coming
to Wake Forest.
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in French
from the University of Iowa; Master of Arts degree in
French Literature from Rutgers University; and a Ph.D.
of Philosophy in Romance Languages and Literature
from Ohio State University.
She moved to North Carolina in 1986 whether African art says that I love
now former husband took a job in Raleigh. It was then ^nething about my own tradi
that she applied for the fellowship at UNC-Chapel Hill, &pn."
"The post-doctoral fellowship was a marvelous oppor- Boyd-Buggs will be leav
tunity for recent black PhDs, or young black people ing for Niger around the end of
who had recendy received a Ph.D., to have an opportu- August, and will be taking her
nity to do research," she stated. . two sons, Jordan who is 10
This will not be the first time Boyd-Buggs has years old, and Pascal, who is
traveled to Africa. In fact, this will be the second Ful- two years old, with her.
"Teaching in Niger will give me
an opportunity to examine the lit
erature of Niger, which is primari
ly a Muslim literature. "
? ?? ; . ' . . ' ' t ? Dr. Debra Boyd-Buggs
bright award that she has received. She said, "1 was a
Fulbright Researcher; 1983-84 in the country of Sene
gal. I was what you call the junior researcher. I was
writing my dissertation at the time, and I did complete a
dissertation on the Senegalese novel." However, even
though she this is not new to her, she says receiving a
second Fulbright is just as exciting as the first.
There is no doubt that Boyd-Buggs will fit right in
with the people of Niger. Here at home in the states, she
prefers to wear her hair braided, as well as wear
African clothing. "I've always loved African clothing.
It's more comfortable. It's more convenient. And also, it
does fit in with my life. My life at this point, is closely
linked with my preoccupations with an Afrocentric
approach to education; with helping and getting other
black people to appreciate and to love their Africanity.
And 1 think if I'm an example of that, then as a result of
my wearing African clothes all of the time, there's then
a lot more interest in African clothes among the people
that I'm in close contact with," she commented.
She also stated that she does not mind the fact that
some young African- American people wear the tradi
tional African clothing as part of a trend or fad, without
regard to appreciating African-American history and
heritage.
She added that she is also a lover of African art.
"One of the things about us as black people is that
we've hated ourselves and hated who we are. We want
ed to reject our identity because we were taught that
this was something negative; this was something inferi
or; this was something primitive. So for me to love
She says this will be a
great opportunity for her, espe
cially being an African- Ameri
can, and that more African
American educators should
apply for opportunities to learn
and teach abroad, particularly
in the African countries. She,
herself, plans to continue
applying for- fellowships^
although there is a limit to the
number of Fulbright awards a
person can receive. She said,
"One of the objectives of the
Fulbright Program is to give
different people opportunities
to go abroad to study. So they
don't keep giving it to the same people all the time."
When she returns from Niger next summer, she
says she plans to continue working on her manuscript
and teaching. But she says "the main thing that 1 want
to do though, is to take students overseas to study.
That's one of my primary objectives. 1 want to do two
things. I would like to have an exchange program for
students and then possibly every two years, just take
groups of people who arc interested in going to Africa
on educational excursions."
In addition, she said that she has been involved in
the campus ministry at Wake Forest for the two years
that she has been at the university, and that some time
in the future, she "would like to be able to pull together
Photo by Mike Cunningham
Dr. Debra Boyd-Buggs looks forward to teaching American litera
ture to students In the country of Niger.
my academic interest and my concerns in the ministry,
and be able to put those two things together in some
way. That's what I would like to be able to do as a life
long activity."
But currently, she is working on translating a
novel by a Senegalese writer, and she says once that is
completed, she hopes to begin translating a novel by a
writer from Niger.
About 5,000 Ful bright grants are awarded each
year to U.S. students, teachers, and scholars to study,
teach and conduct research in more than 130 countries
around the world.
For more information about the Fulbright Program,
contact: Office of Public Liaison, 301 Fourth St., S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20547, or call (202) 619-4355.
Military
Notes
The following soldiers recently
landed at Iskenderun, Turkey to assist
with international relief efforts for
Iraqi refugees while serving with
Marine Service Support Group 24,
which is based at ?amp Lejeune.
The group is part of the Mediter
ranean Amphibious Group (MARG),
homeported in Norfolk, VA. The
MARG included the USS Guadal
canal, USS Austin and USS ?
Charleston.
? Marine Lance Cpl. Lance T.
Wallace, son of Shirley A. Ayers of
Kernersville. He is a 1986 graduate
of East Forsyth High School. He
joined the Marine Corps in April
1988.
? Marine PFC Joseph P. Farabee,
son of Lillie M. Farabee of Winston
Salem. He is a 1989 graduate of
Carver Senior High School. He
joined the Marine Corps in June
1990.
? Marine Lance Cpl. Shannon L.
Williams, son of Vernell E. Williams
of Winston-Salem. He is a 1987
graduate of North Forsyth High
School. He joined the Marine Corps -
in August 1987.
? Marine Lance Cpl. Bradley F.
Smith, son of Frederick H. Smith of
Winston-Salem. He is a 1989 gradu
ate of Seneca High School in Seneca,
S.C. He joined the Marine Corps in
September 1989.
?(Note: Smith is serving with the
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit
based at Camp Lejeune.)
OUH milts IN THE PERSIAN GULF J
By YVETTE N. FREEMAN
Chronicle Staff Writer
?->: '-h-w-o^-:
When the most Americans look back and remember
the Persian Gulf War, they primarily think of the "heroes"
in terms of the men who risked and even lost their lives ki
the conflict with Iraq. Although men do make op tl it
highest percentage in the XI*S, armed forces, women also v
account for a certain percentage in the army, navy* marines
and air force, and many of them ?
also risked their lives, alongside
their male counterparts, and should
be duly acknowledged as the ;
"heroines" of Operation Desert
Cr AoiftL^ikiiAiait* M'XX-X X\- 111." ?!?!? ?!?.'?-! XvX'X'XXvX* ??,X*XvXvX,Xv
One such "heroine" is 42-year*
old Katherine Johnson* who is a
native of Winston-Salem, but cur
rently resides in Phoenix, Arixona.
She was stationed in the gulf as an
operating nurse with the Army's
403 Combat Support Hospital unit,
which is based in Phoenix: Of the
300 members in the unit, who are
all officers, Johnson is one of five
African- Americans. She is a lieu
tenant.
I'm in charge of the enlisted.
That means I'm supervisor and
director of the enlisted soldiers.
There are scrub techs and there are
also circulators, and.. J was over
seer of those people/1 she said.
/
I
v
Treating the EPOWs was part of Johnson's duty as
well as treating any injured U.S. and allied soldiers. Dur
ing her stay, she aiys her unit treated about 150 EPOWs,
f who had primarily been injured after stepping on tand
mines. She also said that they were glad to have been cap
- toted. "Most of them...were glad to be captured. They
' wanted to be injured and they wanted us to take care of
< them because they said the living conditions they lived in
were beneath the kind of conditions we're used to living
prisoners during an armed conflict must treat them for
their injuries; Johnson says at first she was hesitant about
having to treat soldiers who were supposed to be the Unit
ed States' enemy.
But she says "Once 1 saw what bad shape they were;
in, 1 was proud to take care of them. At first I was hos0f ;
because I didrft want to be there, oncef found oat*
how they lived, 1 realized how proud I was to be an Amer
ican citizen* ' -
Johnsons unit was statione$|
only 30 miles from the Kuwait*
border and says they could he$|?
die bombs dropping continuous|||
throughout the war. No one in ihl|
unit was hurt or kilted during the
war, however it was aft& the war j
was over that Johnson says memr|
bers of the unit got careless, which ;
resaUed in serious injuries. In one?
instance, she said two office*^
were seri ou sly i njured wheii|l
cluster bomb exploded in the tttitl
next to hers. She said an fema&t
African- American officer suffered
;; brain damage and another lost t$|
arm in the explosion, She says
was only luck that no one else wasf
injured or killed
J Johnson arrived back in the
1 United States April 21 arid says;
she was elated to be home agai&|
*1 could kiss the j^ound." she said.
i usca to say 'X wonder why ih^ I
Ptioto by Mike Cunningham
jonnson arrived in Naudi Arar
. . k*? vwii? wif wiwwii iiw w?i? iwr fawiw, jo? Austin, recently returned from the
bia Thursday, January 3 at 5:30 profgn Qu|ft whare ?h? was an optfttHig rturM.
a.m. She found out there was a : >
possibility of going to the gulf back in November when under. So they were proud to be captured * she said.
ber umt was pat on alert "Hwy put i? on thm
hours. Then they told us we were going, and I air t
fainted. 1 couldn't believe," she stated. ? t .
Johnson says she didnt want to go because -I was
afraid for royJife. I didn't know what to expect' Howtv
She noted In particular that several of the EPOWs
?imt only children forced to serve in the Iraqi army; She
said "One EPOW, was only 13 years old; Thaf s how
young they were. He told us that the Iraqis came and took
him away from his family, and they told him if he didn't
? wr.^.; 4~> ? ' ww* " ,r
er, her disposition did change once she got there, although volunteer to go, they would assassinate his family."
she says she was still afraid. She said, *1 had to do alot Johnson also stated that many of the EPOWs were so
of praying...and fasting and asking God to take care of me malnourished that it was difficult to really distinguish how
while I was there. But once ! got there and saw the living old they were.
conditions of the Saudi Arabians and the Iraqis; EPOWs However, despite the fact thai it was her duty to treat
(Enemy Prisoners of War), 1 was glad that 1 went because the enemy prisoners of war, because of the Geneva Con
most of those people are very malnourished people." vention treaty, which states that any country that takes
rope wouio want to fciss the
ground/ It's just so stupid. Mt
now I understand why when he
gets off the plane, he kisses the ground/
She a Iso received a Congressional Commodatiob
Medal for her service in the golf during the war.
Now that Johnson is back home, she plans to Continue
pursuing a master's diegtte In Nursing from Arizona: State
University, arid she says she hopes to one day wotk with
teenagers, pattjculluty ^ to help prevent
teen pregnancy. She will receive that degree next year.
However, for now, she says she will continue working as
an Operating Room Nurse at the Veterans Administrative
Hospital in Phbenix.
Katherroe Johnson is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joe
Austin of Winsion*Salem*