Library Hosts Collection for Late Olatunji Balogun

Today, the family of Olatunji Balogun handed over a collection of his work to the Leo Bradley Library in Belize City.  Balogun, who died last year at seventy years old, gained the reputation as a black conscious activist, historian and educator in Belize. He has written many books and recorded material on the plight of the black race and afro-descendants, as well as presented lectures in the U.S. and the Caribbean. Balogun published his last book in 2015 called ‘A Family Affair,’ which talks about the strengthening of the family in order to preserve African race. This morning, his wife of more than twenty-five years, Lucia Ellis, told us that since Balogun’s passing they have gathered all of Balogun’s recordings and written works because they want to share his message with the public.

Lucia Ellis

Lucia Ellis, Wife of Olatunji Balogun

“The Collection speaks about his books, the audio tapes recording and video programs that he did during his time here in Belize. This is the journey that he took into finding his essence and it covers a wide range of topics, as he grew into an understanding of himself, he would say an “innerstanding” of himself.   There are eight hundred and twenty-four cassettes alone and I am in the process of collecting the DVDs that he did. I see it as an opportunity for educating. Just as how he was able to use this material to study and to learn about the history, education, politics, prison, military complex, all of those different issues that are relevant today. It is an opportunity for the public, especially students, to use it to get additional insight.  The library has his twenty-four books, which the most recent ones were a compilation of the first seventeen. So, he put them together so that one book alone has his information on health, one on religion and spirituality, one on history and economics, so those are in the library. But the core material that he used, because he was not an academia person but the diligence with which he studied the lectures of scholars of afro-centricity and of social issues, he was in his school and created his own institution of learning. So, that will be at the heritage library in Belmopan but because they have a network online it will be digitized and available anywhere.”