Sharing the Spirit of Africa

Our mountains are rich with unique landscapes, history, and people. One of those people is Folake (pronounced Foe-lah-kay) Phillips, an inspiring visionary sharing the rich culture of Nigeria and other African nations with our . She is organizing an Africa Day event in Los Gatos on Saturday, May 23. More information is on page 6.

A Lexington School classroom volunteer, Folake was recently named Assembly District 28’s Woman of the Year by Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin. Phillips is the founder of the Awo Center, a non-profit organization that strives to “achieve a more inclusive and representative world by focusing on the unheard stories of individuals within society to build a more collective understanding about ourselves.” She also founded Afriicionado, an organization that celebrates African culture and heritage with social engagement and events.

These events include Africa Day celebrations in Sacramento, Los Gatos, and San Jose. Folake also organizes a weekly drumming circle, every Sunday at 2 p.m., in Town Plaza Park in downtown Los Gatos. Everyone is invited to join, play, and connect. She also finds time to volunteer at Folafela, a Nigerian restaurant in San Jose.

A recent chat with Folake opened a refreshing window of vision and hope. “We want people to see a colorful world, not be colorblind, and to experience all the possibilities that come with that,” she said. “That would be knowledge sharing, equal exchange of information, opportunity to share perspectives, and address implicit bias.”

She spent much of her childhood in Nigeria. She travelled extensively in Europe and attended college in England. Her father attended colonial schools and participated in ice hockey, a sport she still loves to watch. “I found when I migrated (to the United States) how very siloed people were, the opposite of how I grew up,” she continued. “I turned that into a strength,”

she said. She founded her non-profits in 2020, inspired by the murder of George Floyd and the global protests for Black Lives Matter. Her mission at that time was to share, amplify, and celebrate the unheard stories of diverse individuals, youth and families using arts, culture, technology, nature, and environment. She advocates for accurate culture narratives and promotes equity, self-sufficiency, and holistic well-being.

Folake is an active participant in arts education in schools, promoting nature and environmental stewardship education. Her program for integrated mental health and wellness includes picking invasive plants, gathering for breathing techniques, then snacks, conversation, and sharing. Lexington School students have learned from her contributions to International Drumming Week and a program to help them understand and appreciate Kwanzaa. She partners with other groups such as Grassroots Ecology and San Jose Conservation Corps, organizing summer internships for some of their students, among many other community activities.

“We do a lot of things that interconnect color, class, and culture,” she said. “There is only one race, the human race, different from what is imbedded in the American system,” she noted. “Our strength is our diversity,” she said. “What can we do with that strength when we harness and use it to its fullest form and use it as a people?” she smiled.

Adelaide Davis Kathy McKinney Mountain resident Adelaide Davis, a junior at Los Gatos High School, was selected for the 2026 ArtNow Exhibition at the New Museum of Los Gatos. Adelaide attended Lakeside Elementary and C.T. English Middle Selected from more than 600 submissions from 53 high across Santa Clara County, students responded to the theme “Before/Between/Beyond,” encouraging an exploration of identity, transformation, and the power of personal and collective narratives.

Inspired by a surrealist assignment in LGHS art teacher Mark Yanowsky’s class, Adelaide’s painting brings imaginative characters to life within a whimsical, dreamlike world. She shared, “My piece was supposed to be a surrealist artwork that related to the past, present, and future (before, between, and beyond) of society. The idea I came up with was essentially that in the future of society, humans would suffer from the karma of mass consumption. In retaliation, fish could take over over the world (and fish people). The title, When Pigs Fly, signifies that this is not a likely future.

“My art teacher at LGHS, Mr. Yanowsky, has been a big support throughout my art journey. He always encourages me to create art as abnormally as I desire, which is awesome.” When Pigs Fly Artwork by Adelaide Davis