Synopsis: Rosa Emilia Clay was a teacher (in Tampere, Kuopio, and Urjala), a singer, and a choral conductor born in 1875 in Omaruru, Namibia. She was the daughter of Feroza Sabina Hazara from the Bantu tribe and British merchant Charles William Clay. She was soon taken from her mother by her father and, at the age of four, adopted by Finnish missionaries. In 1899, Rosa became the first African-born person to be granted Finnish citizenship. Facing racism, differential treatment, and great personal loss, she left Finland for the United States in 1904. On Rosa’s 150th birthday, 31 August 2025, we – some of her sisters from the future – gathered to honor and celebrate her life as the community she never had during her time in Finland.
Dir. Sasha huber
