Ghana chiefs will help open cultural center in Florida

Songs of peace. Drums of steel. Dances of joy. Expressions of soul.

The African-American Research Library and Cultural Center will formally open its doors today with a festive, dramatic, daylong ceremony.

The grand-opening celebration at the Rev. Samuel Delevoe Park will herald the long-awaited library's birth.

Three years after an African priest blessed what was then a vacant piece of land at Northwest 27th Avenue and Sistrunk Boulevard, near Fort Lauderdale, a procession of chiefs and elders from the West African country of Ghana will open the day's events at 10 a.m.

''The tradition in Africa is that new buildings have ceremonies associated with the opening, and this is part of the ceremony,'' said Samuel F. Morrison, the Broward library director who dreamed up the African cultural center a decade ago. ``I'm just looking forward to everybody seeing it and enjoying it.''

County Commission Chairwoman Lori Parrish agreed.

''The community is excited. It's a treasure. It's another crown jewel to Broward County,'' Parrish said. ``It could have been a library, but it's much more than that.''

The two-story, 60,000-square-foot structure will house 75,000 books and other materials, 5,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 300-seat auditorium, a computer lab and an interactive youth center, among other amenities.

A circular wooden reception desk will welcome entrants onto a colorfully adorned terrazzo floor. Dark wooden columns decorate the foyer, featuring artistic designs that speak of long-standing African traditions. Burgundy, green and white squares brighten the auditorium walls, and carpeted walls frame rows of books.

Library tours will take place through the day.

''When you walk in, you'll be in an open, airy, light-filled space,'' Morrison said. ``There's lots of color in the building.''

Also on display today will be Celebration and Vision: The Hewitt Collection of African-American Art.

Sponsored by Bank of America, the traveling exhibit features 55 two-dimensional works by 20 artists.

The bank purchased the collection in 1998 from Vivian Hewitt and the late John Hewitt of New York. It is regarded as one of the most important and comprehensive collections of African-American art this century.

''We are thrilled to have the world-renowned Hewitt Collection here when we open our doors,'' Morrison said. ``The art pieces represent the spirit in which the library was created -- to celebrate the contributions to our culture made by people of African descent.''

Danielle Knox, co-anchor for WBFS-UPN 33 news and a reporter for WFOR-CBS 4, will emcee.

Lerone Bennett Jr., editor of Ebony magazine, will give the keynote address, following a host of speeches from elected officials.

Closing the show will be a Nigerian dance troupe. The dancers will perform a ritualistic series of rhythmic body movements, symbolizing an age-old African message of peace and joy.