Staying True to Self

Since arriving in 2002, Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi has helped give the Africana Studies program prominence

By MAGGIE THACH

His office is located on the second floor of the McKee Fisk building. You may have passed the office a time or two, not realizing the significance or what his office stands for.

After all, it is not an office that looks enticing or attractive. At least, not from the outside.

The only thing that differentiates it from any other office is its name and title — AAIS, or Africana and American Indian Studies.

Very few know the actual importance of these four letters, but, for one person, they represent revising the old, reviving the new and bettering the change for the future.

For that person, Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi, these letters are revolutionary.

“When I first came to Fresno State, I saw a lot of potential within this department,” department chair Oheneba-Sakyi said. “Changing the name was just the first step.”

Africana and American Indian Studies, once known as the Ethnic Studies program, was in disarray before Oheneba-Sakyi came along. The program taught courses in subjects spanning from Armenian Studies to Asian-American Studies to African and American Indian Studies.

Oheneba-Sakyi’s first order of business when he arrived at Fresno State in August 2002 was to group all the classes together, and, ultimately, change the name to something that would represent what the department really stood for.

According to the CSU Fresno University Journal, Oheneba-Sakyi, who prefers to be called Dr. Yaw, said, “the new name provides visibility and brings clarity to the department’s mission in providing students with appropriate knowledge and skills necessary to understand the history and culture of African peoples all over the world and American Indians in North America.”

Dr. Yaw’s plan for change within the department is based on four pillars: building the identity, offering new courses while revising existing ones, promoting student participation and encouraging community outreach. Through these four pillars, Dr. Yaw believes the department’s full potential can truly be reached.

"These interrelated themes will provide the building blocks for a new image," Dr. Yaw said.
Creating a new identity was the biggest priority.

“A new name was the first move,” he said. “The name represents the diaspora experiences of these cultures.”

Along with the new name, a new Web site was created to provide culture-appropriate knowledge.

As a professor and chair of the Africana and American Indian Studies department, Dr. Yaw has developed new courses for the growing department.

He has introduced critical thinking about race and African cultural perspectives, both of which are additions to this year’s course catalog.

Student participation has been an essential aspect of rebuilding the new image of the department, Dr. Yaw said.

“We also have a student newspaper and the Africana Student Union,” he said.

The department also co-sponsors the African-American student recruitment conference, a program that presents the opportunity to go to college as an attractive and worthwhile experience for minority high school students. These conferences allow the department to reach out to the community.

Dr. Yaw said he has been satisfied with the change he has seen since his arrival two and a half year ago.

“In the Fall of 2002, there were only four majors available,” Dr. Yaw said. “Now there are 19. We have seen results.”

These changes are only the beginning for the vision he sees for the AAIS department.

"Students need to study the roots of their background, as well as their future," Dr. Yaw said. "As chair, I’m responsible for making sure our students are in a welcoming environment and are informed about who we are and what we do."

He said the ability to help students was a driving force behind why he came to Fresno.

"I don’t do this for money,” Dr. Yaw said. “I do it because I challenge students to grow intellectually and humanly. Specifically, I help students learn about culture and things they didn’t learn in high school.

"My biggest satisfaction is to see my students graduate and come back to see me,” Dr. Yaw said. “I want to be remembered as someone who had a passion for students, someone who was always here to help and give advice.”

He is so motivated to help, he said, because his passion is people.

“People inspire me,” Dr. Yaw said. “As a sociology major, I ask a lot of questions. I want to know.”

The people who have inspired him the most include a laundry list of great blacks in history. Among them are W.E.B. DuBois, Maya Angelou, Malcom X, Martin Luther King Jr., Tony Morrison, Nelson Mandella, as well as his grandparents and parents.

"I admire all these people because they had a vision and worked hard to acclimate this vision," Dr. Yaw said.

Another great source of inspiration comes from proverbs he has heard over the years.

"I believe in proverbs," Dr. Yaw said. "They say a lot in a simple statement."

He has made a book of proverbs that sits on a coffee table in the department office.

Perhaps the most applicable to Dr. Yaw’s life is this one: "Whatever you do, you are going to be accountable for."

Dr. Yaw said he likes it because "it is a philosophy of life. I believe in life. It is something God has given us. I believe in people’s potential. If I can contribute, if I can help, I’m glad to do so."