Jad Abumrad

They were really scared that if they come in and meet that symbolic protest with actual violence, it would unleash forces that they could not control.

And so they decide to basically sneak the king out of the palace and abdicate the throne.

Right.

And so it is one of the first colonial revolts prior to the African independence movement that actually was successful.

And in some small way, it sort of seeded the ground for the African independence movement.

And Fela was there.

Well, yes and no.

There are – you will find people who know the story.

But more often than not, what we found is that people would refer to her simply as Fela's mother.

So she has been reduced a bit because – I mean I think this revolt is one of the great – I mean it's one of the fiercest things I've ever encountered.

And yet she just gets reduced to being the mother of this famous consequential but pop star.

And one of the saddest moments in our reporting was we were very anxious to find her grave.

And we found it on the backside of an Anglican church.

And she's buried with her husband, Israel Ransom Cootey.

But there's no mention of her.

There's simply a long kind of litany of his accomplishments.

And there's no mention of what she did.

And it was kind of wild to see the ways in which this incredible, incredible movement was kind of erased in a way.

I mean, he is a case study encouraged like no other.

So I think part of it was just the chutzpah that he brought to the cause.