The National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum’s African American Wrestling Experience exhibit was featured at “The Wrestling Tradition In Africa: From The Distant Past, Its Widespread Presence Today And The Challenges It Faces In The Future” on Jan. 5 in Evanston, Illinois.

The seminar was hosted by Northwestern University’s Program of African Studies and co-sponsored by the International Network of Wrestling Researchers and Beat the Streets Chicago.

[caption id="attachment_12163" align="alignleft" width="150"] Dr. David Curby and Josef Nonga[/caption]

Forty-five guests, mostly experts in various aspects of Africa, attended the event that featured Dr. David Curby, who is the director of International Wrestling Researchers and a member of the Scientific Commission for United World Wrestling; Josef Nonga of Cameroon, and Joseph Salumu of Congo.

[caption id="attachment_12164" align="alignright" width="113"] Lee Kemp[/caption]

Dr. Curby and Nonga and Distinguished Member Lee Kemp attended the 53rd Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships where Nonga was introduced before the finals, and the NWHOF exhibit was also showcased.

Nonga and Salumu were able to attend high school practices, and Nonga even coached youth in inner city Chicago at St. Sabina. The contingent attended the New Year’s Party hosted by the Congolese Community of Chicago.

The exhibit was also made into a poster and presented to youth wrestlers competing in the Beat The Streets Chicago Martin Luther King tournament.