In 1906, Verner approached the director of the Bronx Zoo and suggested that they could give Benga a job maintaining the animal cages. The director agreed and hired Benga, but soon realized that the visitors seemed more interested in Benga than the animals on display. And so, the Zoo suggested putting Benga himself on display for visitors. Benga was soon placed in the monkey house, where he would shoot a bow and arrow as visitors gawked and sometimes threw things at him. Over time, their abuse understandably began to upset Benga.
One day, Benga fired his bow into a crowd that was tormenting him. Although the incident didn’t result in any injuries, the zoo soon realized that Benga was becoming a liability. There had already been calls to shut the exhibit down. Prominent African-American reverend James Gordon was an early and vocal opponent of the display, saying, “Our race, we think, is depressed enough, without exhibiting one of us with the apes … We think we are worthy of being considered human beings, with souls.” And in spite of the racism that was prominent during the period, enough people agreed with Gordon that the Zoo finally decided to release Benga.
Reverend Gordon arranged for Benga to live at an orphanage where he could start building a new life, but the press continued to hound him. In order to get him away from the unwelcome attention, Gordon arranged for Benga to move to Lynchburg, Virginia, where he was taken in by the McCray family. There Gordon once again tried to help Benga adapt to American society. Gordon paid to Benga’s filed teeth capped so that his appearance wouldn’t be as alarming to Americans. Benga was then enrolled in a local elementary school so that he could improve his English.
Eventually, Benga found work in a tobacco factory. He was immediately a popular employee, as he could climb up into the rafters to retrieve tobacco without a ladder. His co-workers soon took to calling him “Bingo” and paid him sandwiches and root beer in exchange for hearing the story of his extraordinary life. But in spite of his success at adapting to his new circumstances, Benga longed for his home in Africa. He missed the familiar sights and sounds of the Congo. And so, he began making plans to return.
But in 1914, war broke out and passenger shipping to Africa was suspended, shattering Benga’s dream of returning home. Heartbroken, Benga fell into a deep depression for the next two years. Finally, on March 20, 1916, Benga left home and walked into an abandoned barn. There he built a ceremonial fire and knocked the caps off of his teeth before shooting himself in the heart with a pistol. Benga was buried in Virginia, thousands of miles away from his home. It was a tragic end to a life that was far too filled with tragedy and a grim reminder of the toll it can take when someone is stripped of their humanity.