Choreographer, singer, educator, dancer and musician, Yetunde Obasola was born Kathleen Yvonne Johnson in Pittsburgh, PA on April 19, 1947, the oldest of eight children. She primarily attended schools within the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh and graduated from Sacred Heart High School. Later, she joined the Job Corps and traveled from Pittsburgh to Charleston, West Virginia then Cleveland, OH where she settled and enrolled in Cuyahoga Community College receiving an Associate’s degree in Urban Planning. It was during this time that, “Kat,” as she was affectionately known by her family and friends, became an outspoken supporter of the Black liberation/Civil Rights movement. It was through her political activism with various organizations and study groups that she discovered Pan Africanism and her love and knowledge of the African Diaspora grew. Along the way, she met her future husband, the love of her life and comrade, Samuel Anthony Young, Jr., and they embarked on a journey together to discover their African heritage and spirituality. Together, they felt as though they outgrew their birth names and Kathleen, with her mother’s blessing, chose the name Yetunde, which means “mother returns” and Samuel became Ibiyinka, “good birth surrounds me” both in the Yoruba language. Her adopted last name Obasola, which in Yoruba means “the king makes wealth,” was later given to her by Oba Efuntola Oseijiman Adefunmi I of Oyotunji.

Yetunde and Ibiyinka’s dedication to preserving African culture and spirituality was a constant in their lives and influenced all that they did including the names they gave their children, how they ran their household and their faith. Each child was given an African name at birth with meanings that are significant and foretell of good lives and strong destinies, Najaa, Omope Adelana, Ayodeji and Olufemi. Their home held museum quality African art, authentic African instruments and clothing and they built a personal library that included rare and out of print books about African history, culture and spirituality from around the world. They also became initiated priests in the Yoruba traditional belief system sometimes referred to as Ifa or Lucumi. Yetunde became a priestess of Esu and was given the name Esulade and Ibiyinka became a priest of Obatala and was given the name Okeinla.

Yetunde began studying African dance and music in the early 1970s with Ayinka Janette, a former dancer with master percussionist Babatunde Olatunji, and Oyekunle Adeyemo. From there Yetunde spent the next 40 plus years studying and performing with master dancers and musicians from the Ballet National Cote d’Ivoire, Le Ballet National du Senegal, Baba Ramon Sylla (Senegal), Odushima (Nigeria), Margaret Christian, Los Munequitos de Matanzas (Cuba) and a host of other African, Afro Caribbean and Afro Latino folk artists. Armed with this knowledge and the blessings of her elders she formed her first dance company in the early 1980s in Cleveland, OH called Buku Ire and began to perform and teach throughout Ohio. She taught workshops and classes at Garden Valley Neighborhood House, East End Neighborhood House, Kent State University, Oberlin College, College of Wooster, Cleveland State University, the Cleveland Municipal School District and Murtis Taylor Community Center, just to name a few. She also performed at the Cleveland Playhouse, Ohio State Theatre, Cleveland Natural History Museum, Karamu House and at a host of folk, state and community festivals.

In 1987 the family relocated back to Yetunde’s hometown of Pittsburgh, PA where she was surprised and thrilled to see an African dance community. She began performing with several local artists and companies such as Willie Anku (Ghana), Elie Kihonia and his group Umoja and as a vocalist with the reggae group The Moabites. In the early 1990s she formed another dance company, Omi Tutu, and began teaching and performing under that banner. While in Pittsburgh she also taught and performed at the Homewood Brushton YMCA, Pittsburgh Job Corps, Benedum Center, 3 Rivers Arts Festival, Harambee Black Arts Festival, Smoky City Folk Festival, Pittsburgh Public Schools and Chatham University among many others. In 1996 she and her husband returned to Cleveland where she continued to perform and teach. However, she faithfully returned to Pittsburgh to perform annually at the Kwanzaa sponsored by Community Empowerment and Rashad Byrdsong in her beloved Homewood community. She also continued to perform as an artist throughout the Midwest and east coast.

Yetunde was not only a master performer and teacher she was also a lifelong student and held a certificate in nursing and also pursued a degree in Women’s Studies from Cleveland State University. A major patron of the arts, Yetunde and her husband, Ibiyinka, hosted workshops in their home or cosponsored events for artists with her own money as well as clothed and fed artists who were struggling to find their footing. She regularly volunteered to perform in prisons and schools in northeast Ohio and western PA where she felt her services were needed but they couldn’t afford her fees. Her kind and indomitable spirit coupled with her knowledge of the African Diaspora garnered her numerous community awards and accolades as well as a legion of children and adults who love her and trace their own knowledge of African cultures, spirituality, music and dance directly to her. In 2009 she officially retired and in 2015 after the death of her loving husband she moved to Georgia to live with her daughter, Najaa. In Georgia Yetunde continued to regale her children, grandchildren and friends with her tales of performing and teaching throughout the Midwest and eastern United States and sharing her seemingly limitless knowledge of the African Diaspora. A champion of the people, Mama Yetunde will be missed but will live on forever in the hearts of all that knew and loved her.

Yetunde was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Baba Ibiyinka Ijagmadunmi (nee Samuel A, Young Jr.), mother, Alice Bender Holmes, her stepfather, Fred Holmes, Sr., her sister, Darlene Benton, and her brother, James Bender, Jr. She is survived by her children Najaa Young, Omope Adelana Young, Ayodeji Young and Olufemi Young, her grandchildren, Jordanae, Asauta, Amirah, Adenike, Adelana, Adelola, Adejoye, and Adetunde. She is also survived by her siblings, Donald Johnson (Denise), Stephen Johnson, Ardath Longshaw (Eric), Rita McCleod, and Paul – Martin Bender. Lastly, she is survived by a bevy of cousins, nieces, nephews and godchildren.