Interview with William Siegmann in January 2010
(This post was originally written for the Sosauce.com site, not in existence anymore. William Siegmann, sadly, passed away in November 2011.) William Siegmann (photo by Adam Husted, Brooklyn Museum) I first heard about William Siegmann through Sally Williams, Public Information Officer at Brooklyn Museum, NY, where he worked as a curator. He spent many years in Liberia, starting in 1965, and it sounded like he’d have a fascinating story to tell. I was not disappointed when I was finally able to meet him in person. He first came to Liberia in 1965, as a member of the Peace Corps. It was a heady time, as many African nations were celebrating their independence from European colonization. He taught at a private college, Cuttington University. Most of the students were Liberian but there were also a few students from Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, and later also Kenya, Sudan, and Tanzania. During this time, Siegmann, a history major, developed an interest in African ar...