Why We Started This Publishing Company?
First and foremost, I have always wanted to publish my own work as well as the work of other authors.
Over the past 30 years, I have been documenting the African presence in Norway, dating back to the late 1500s. Initially, many librarians and historians doubted that I would find anything.
As I continued my search, I realized that there was indeed a history—traces of it existed in archives. The questions I often asked myself were: What? When? Where? Who? I must admit, I did not know exactly what I would find. My journey led me to meet archivists at the Oslo City Archives and later historian Professor Knut Kjeldstadli. History is not my formal field, but Professor Kjeldstadli generously gave his time and guided me for years because he believed in my work. Another professor that gave me generous time to writing letters of support is professor of
antropology Thomas Hylland Eriksen.
As Renata Cherlise writes in her book Black Archives: A Photographic Celebration of Black Life:
“The family member who is called upon to gather and curate these images is doing their family — and our collective histories — a great service by pulling together the truth of our existence as people.”
In 2003, I received an email from Ann Falahat, then working at the National Gallery, expressing interest in meeting me. A year or two later, she made an outstanding discovery of an unknown painting by the Norwegian artist Adolf Tidemand.
Over time, I made further discoveries, and in 2008, I was hired to work at the Norwegian Local Historical Institute.
In 2011, Ann Falahat and I co-edited the book Afrikanere i Norge gjennom 400 år (Africans in Norway Over 400 Years), featuring contributions from several authors, including Professor Thomas Hylland Eriksen, poet Bertrand Besigye, art historian Ann Falahat, Professor Samba Diop, and Dr. Moses Kovoame, among others.
A new edition of this book is due in January this year.
Our publishing company is born out of this journey—out of a desire to uncover, preserve, and share histories that are too often overlooked, and to give voice to authors and stories that deserve to be told.