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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

A Celebration Of Motherhood - For Everyone African American Mothers’ Celebration Has Diverse Topics

In the West African country of Ghana, teenage girls enter adulthood almost instantly.

For a day or more, fathers aren’t allowed in the house when their daughters get their first period.

Only women partake in a special ceremony: They teach girls about hygiene and contraception; they talk about men and love; they share a meal of mashed ham mixed with eggs and palm oil.

“The puberty rite helps women face the world ahead,” said Doris Danchi, a Ghana native and a graduate student at Eastern Washington University. “This is the first step from childhood to adulthood.”

Rites of passage - a tradition in many West African countries - will be one of the topics of discussion Saturday at the African American Mothers’ Celebration. The daylong event, which takes place at Spokane Community College, focuses on black women but is open to women of all races.

The first of its kind in Spokane, the African American Mothers’ Celebration is “a way to embrace our sisters of all races who are mothers, who have mothers and who may become mothers,” said Beverly WalkerGriffea, one of the coordinators of the event.

“Women are the strength of (the African) race and culture,” she said.

The typical black mother often is portrayed as a single parent on welfare with gang members for children, Walker-Griffea said.

She and a dozen other volunteers want to change that stereotype.

Women always have been significant to West African society, said Danchi, who came to Spokane in 1996. Because the culture includes rites of passage for women, a girl learns about her own importance and her duty to society, she said.

Like other girls growing up in urban areas, Danchi’s ceremony lasted only a day. At the time, her mother and older sisters talked to her about maxi pads, deodorant and boys, she recalled.

But in rural villages, girls who reach puberty must live with a female tribal elder for three months. In groups of four or five, they learn how to cook, clean and take care of themselves, Danchi said.

“Training and development (in Ghana) aren’t just the parents’ responsibility,” Danchi said. “It’s up to the entire community.”

Danchi’s presentation will be one of several educational workshops. Other topics include black female health issues, racial justice in Spokane and mothering patterns around the world. Throughout the day, women also will be treated to mini-facials, massages and manicures.

“We will celebrate the African American mother and the strength that has carried her from slavery,” Walker-Griffea said.

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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: FOR MOTHERS The African American Mothers’ Celebration takes place Saturday at Spokane Community College’s Lair Student Center, 1810 N. Greene. Admission, which includes lunch, costs $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Call Beverly Walker-Griffea at 533-7030 to register.

This sidebar appeared with the story: FOR MOTHERS The African American Mothers’ Celebration takes place Saturday at Spokane Community College’s Lair Student Center, 1810 N. Greene. Admission, which includes lunch, costs $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Call Beverly Walker-Griffea at 533-7030 to register.