Bernard Binlin Dadié

Bernard Binlin Dadié (10 January 1916 – 9 March 2019) was an Ivorian novelist, playwright, poet, and governmental administrator. Starting in 1957, he held many governmental positions in the Côte d'Ivoire, including Minister of Culture from 1977 to 1986.https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bernard_Binlin_Dadi%C3%A9&action=edit Quotes I thank you God for having created me Black, for making of me the porter of all sorrows, setting on my head the World.https://www.ronnowpoetry.com/contents/dadie/IThankYou.html?hl=en-US#:~:text=Bernard%20Dadie.%20I%20Thank%20You%20God.%20I,Content%20With%20the%20shape%20of%20my%20nose. White is a color for special occasions. Black is the color for every day. And I have carried the World since the dawn of time.https://www.ronnowpoetry.com/contents/dadie/IThankYou.html?hl=en-US#:~:text=I%20thank%20you%20God%20for%20creating%20me,%26%20Clive%20Wake.%20Bernard%20Dadie%2C%20French%2C%20trans. And my laughter over the World, through the night, creates the Day. Tradition is not a museum to be preserved, but a flame to be passed on. The world belongs to those who get up early, but it also belongs to those who know how to dream. To write is to draw from the depth of oneself the light that illuminates the path for others." A tree without roots is at the mercy of the wind; a people without history is at the mercy of others." References