Ota Benga was a young man from Congo, born around 1883, who went through a lot of pain before ending up in New York. His wife and kids were killed by Belgian soldiers, and later he was taken to the United States.
In 1906, he was put on display at the Bronx Zoo in the Monkey House, where they made him sit in a cage with an orangutan as if he was part of the exhibit. He was small, about 4 feet 11 inches, and his teeth were sharpened to points, which was a tradition in his culture.
Crowds of people came to stare at him, while some Black ministers and leaders protested, saying it was wrong and racist. After the zoo, Ota moved to Virginia, worked in a tobacco factory, and hoped to one day return to Africa, but he never got the chance. Feeling alone and trapped, he took his own life in 1916. His story is still remembered as one of the Bronx Zoo’s darkest secrets.
