Lily Golden fan site

My great-grandfathers were slaves in county Yazu, state of Mississippi. After releasing from slavery in 1865 a family of my grandfather Hillard Golden and his wife's indian Sweet Mum with ten children with a great labour, diligence and effort processed earth and were buying plantations. Soon enough Hillard became one of the richest black planters of Mississippi. But soon KKC have begun actions against him and have burnt his house twice. Hillard has been compelled to run from Mississippi and in this way the big amicable family was broken.

My father Oliver John Golden had found himself in Taxigi - an educational institution for children of the former slaves. World famous professor George Washington Carter with whom he has kept friendly and business ties for all life was one of his teachers. During the First World War my father was fighting in France.

To the Soviet Russia he got in year 1924 casually under the patronage of the friend holding a high post in Komintern. He suited my father for study in CUWE - Communistic University of workers of the East that was preparing cadres for world revolution from the countries of Asia and Africa. It was time when the country required experts that were necessary for economic development, and many of them have arrived from the various countries. The father has paid attention that all of them were of European origin, and has decided to invite black Americans. By means of professor Carter such group was collected, and my father with mother have brought 16 families to Uzbekistan in 1931. This republic has been selected for many reasons: from the American point of view Uzbeks are the colour people and group wished to help them. Besides, it is the cotton country, and the Afro-Americans knew cotton business well, besides my father continued to use councils of professor Carter. Their help to the Soviet cotton industry was so effective that soon Uzbekistan became the leading country in the world on cotton manufacture.

I was born in Tashkent in 1934. When I was six years my father died. The next year war has begun, and my mother could not return to the USA. I have graduated form high school and also musical school at the Tashkent conservatory. As the pianist I won musical competition dedicated to Sebastian Bach. At the same time I repeatedly won tennis tournaments.

In 1952 I tried to join Moscow State university, faculty of history. And though the selection committee did not wish to accept my documents at all, I all the same have achieved it and entered historical faculty where my specialisatin was the history of USA.

After the University graduation in 1957, having very hardly solved a residence permit problem in Moscow, I've gone to work in Oriental studies Institute, the department of Africa. When in 1959 the Institute of Africa has opened at Academy of sciences of the USSR I transfered to work there and was working there for more than 30 years, having published books about history of Africans in Russia and on the African music, and also more than hundred articles.

My husband Abdula Kassim Hanga, the former vice-president of Tanzania, has been subject to severe tortures and killed in 1968. My daughter Elena Hanga has ended faculty of journalism and has been directed by the newspaper «Moscow news» as the journalist on the international exchange to the USA. Under the invitation of Fund of Rockefeller she has written the book about our family «Perfect concord» which has been published in the USA. Soon she received an invitation to work on Moscow TV. Elena is married and has a daughter.

As my father has died, when I was only six years old, I almost knew nothing about history of our family. When I was invited 5 times in the USA to read lectures, I vainly searched for members of my family. Only after a plot shown on the television program «20-20», my American family has found me. On family congress in 1992 there have arrived 150 relatives.

The same year I have received the invitation to work as the professor at the Chicago State university where has worked more than 10 years. I continue to receive invitations from the American universities and have acted for today more than in 90. Besides, I read lectures in many countries of Europe and Asia.

I am also a member of management of several public organisations: the Center of Civil initiatives (a member of Board of directors), the Summit of afro-american leaders and the African presidents, the International Intercultural Institute on problems of black women, Poured International welfare fund "Juravlik", Golden Fund and others. Of them I represent some in the United Nations. In Russia I am a member of the Board of guardians of the Non-governmental union «Russian-African business council», and also Jazz fund, etc. I Continue to publish books and articles in the different countries of the world. Last book - «Long jorney home» («the Long way home»), USA, 2003.