In Memory of Modupe Broderick PhD’77

Dr. Sylvester Modupe Broderick, Jr.
September 25, 1941–November 17, 2022

Sylvester (a.ka.. Sundiata) Modupe Broderick PhD’77, born in Sierra Leone, was a beloved colleague in the early days of the Department of African Languages and Literature (AL&L) at UW–Madison. Becoming a professor and then a diplomat, he was 81 when he passed away at his multi-generational home in Potomac, Maryland. Modupe left behind his wife and childhood friend, Amelia Fitzjohn; two energetic children; and two endearing grandchildren. He was an exemplary figure in the African Diaspora, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students across three continents to explore their rich cultures and oral traditions. In a second career with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), he guided development programs in nine African countries.

Modupe’s funeral highlighted the many ways he attained his ambition to make the world a better place. UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield MA’75, a longtime friend and fellow student from UW–Madison, spoke affectionately about his achievements in African studies and his impact as a program officer on her team in Liberia, where she served as U.S. Ambassador. (In order to offer her tribute in person, she delayed her trip to Doha to represent the United States at the closing ceremonies of the World Cup.) Governor Larry Hogan and Senator Chris Van Hollen conferred certificates recognizing Modupe’s contributions to his adopted country and his state.

Inspired by his father, Dr. Sylvester Modupe Broderick, Sr., Modupe also attended Otterbein College (now University) in Ohio. After graduating with a double major in History-Government and French, he earned an MA in French at Université Laval in Quebec City. While teaching French at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, the city’s civil rights struggle inspired Modupe to deepen his education in African Studies at UW–Madison. After Modupe completed his dissertation on Krio oral narratives, his AL&L department hired him to teach others. But he was eager to return to Africa, and he soon joined Bayero University in Kano, Nigeria, as head of a new master’s program in literature.

Throughout his studies, Modupe remained close friends with his future wife, Amelia, whose father was a diplomat in Washington, DC. It was Modupe who raised the Sierra Leone flag in 1961 at the opening of the Embassy for his newly independent country. Twenty years later he married Amelia, who was by then a Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. Information Agency. Modupe joined her in Brazil, where he taught research methods in oral literature at the University of Bahia. Her later posting in Cotonou Benin led him to international development work with USAID. Across this career change he found great satisfaction mentoring young Africans engaged in academic studies and in the socio-economic development of their communities and countries.

The theme of building a new African nation is richly developed in Modupe’s autobiography, published near the end of his life (Trodden Paths: A Journey from Brookfields, New Generation Publishing, 2022). Like his forebears, Modupe was committed to creating a better world through his work, his strong ties to family and friends, and — above all — through his exemplary character. He was an “elder” before his time, deeply intelligent, kind, and constantly aware of the sensibilities of others. “Modupe” means “Thank you” in Yoruba, and we indeed give thanks for having the luck to share a portion of our lives with this indefatigable scholar and consummate gentleman.

Written by his AL&L colleagues Dr. Deirdre LaPin MA’71, PhD’77 and Dr. Connie Stephens MA’77, PhD’81.