MARIGOT:--- A special tribute to the late Laurelle "Yaya" Richards, one of St. Martin's acclaimed cultural activists, will air this weekend on Conscious Lyrics radio magazine, said host/producer Shujah Reiph.Richards died on Wednesday, May 26, after a reported massive heart attack. She was the founder and president of St. Louis Cultural Women Association, and founder of the St. Louis-Freetown-Rambaud fête, celebrated yearly in mid-May.
Part one of the two-part radio program will air on SOS radio 95.9 FM, on Saturday, May 29, 12 noon. Part two will broadcast on Radio Soualiga 99.9 FM, on Sunday, May 30, at 12:30 noon.
In July 2008, Richards journeyed to South Africa as part of Conscious Lyrics Foundation's 160th anniversary celebration of St. Martin Emancipation. "Yaya always talked about returning to Africa again," said Reiph. "Now, as we say, she is with the ancestors in Glory."
Her first volume of poetry is scheduled to be published posthumously. The Collectivity's department of culture, with the enthusiastic support of Pres. Frantz Gumbs, has been busy working with a publisher on the book project since late last year.
Author and poet Lasana Sekou, one of the persons talking about Yaya on the radio programs this weekend, said that, "As a folklorist she projected the folklore aspect of the nation on modernity, with pride and confidence."
