![T.J. Vassar ’68 (back, far right) and Bob Mazelow (back, third from left) with Kenyan friends, 2007]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1778089198/lakeside/l4r7nixmssdaulsxzeex/TJKenya141.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1778089198/lakeside/l4r7nixmssdaulsxzeex/TJKenya141.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1778089198/lakeside/l4r7nixmssdaulsxzeex/TJKenya141.jpg","width":640}])
The trip to Africa
The trip to Africa
Image: T.J. Vassar ’68 (back, far right) and Bob Mazelow (back, third from left) with Kenyan friends, 2007. Photo: Bob Mazelow.
In January 2007, T.J. Vassar ’68 and U.S. History teacher Bob Mazelow went to Kenya together. Mazelow had longstanding ties to Kenya, having taught at the International School there, and for him, the trip was to attend the World Social Forum. Vassar went to experience Kenya.
I didn't know what to expect. When I got there, it was very different. It wasn't like I went to Compton. [Laughs]. We call places in Washington, D.C. ‘Chocolate City’ because they're so black. But this wasn't the same thing. Those folks embraced me. I can go back seven generations in my family in the United States, but I felt a connection, I really did. And it felt good to be in a country where everybody's Black. … I had really romanticized going to Africa. When my daughter [Asha] went with Bob [Mazelow] about 16 years ago, I told her to bring me back some dirt just so I could say I'd touched African soil. It was a big deal. But when I talked to people, ‘African Americans’ didn't mean anything to them. I had to say, ‘I’m an American, with African ancestors,’ for people to really know what I was talking about. — T.J. Vassar ’68 quote from “Connecting With Kenya,” Tatler, February 14, 2007
Image: T.J. Vassar ’68 in Kenya, 2007. Photo: Bob Mazelow.
Image: T.J. Vassar ’68 in Kenya, 2007.
Image: T.J. Vassar ’68 with Kenyan friends, 2007.
Artifact: Rungu staff, Loita, Kenya. Kenya trip, 2007. Used traditionally in East Africa for protection, a gift to T.J. Vassar ’68 from the Maasai. Courtesy of the Vassar family.
Artifact: Woman’s belt, Loita, Kenya. Kenya trip, 2007. The belt, mounted below, was a surprise gift to T.J. Vassar ’68 from the Maasai. “Ole” describes paternal lineage. Courtesy of the Vassar family.
Artifact: Photograph album, Kenya trip, 2007. Courtesy of the Vassar family.
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