to lead a small village while continuing as a secretary in the embassy of gonna in the city. tonight, peggy bartels, in her own words with a story you will have to hear her tell to believe it. we have a conversation with ghana's king peggy, coming up. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where walmart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: in 2008, peggy bartels

got a telephone call that she could only assume was, -- some kind of joke or prank. working at the embassy of god in washington, her cousin had called to say that her uncle, the king of a small village in gonna, had passed away, and she had been chosen as the new king -- the king of a small village in ghana. she found a litany of problems and political realities. remarkably, she continues in her role as a secretary and travels to ghana. there is a book called "king peggy: an american secretary, her royal destiny, and the inspiring story of how she changed an african village." peggy bartels, king peggy, a pleasure to have you on the program. >> a pleasure. tavis: i have been to about 50

or 16 african countries, and there is one that i regarded as having the nicest people, and that is ghana. i might get some hate mail about that, but the ghanaian people are friendly. >> we are very humble people. come.ove to people we are very happy to have people. tavis: i have never been to otuam. now that i have the hookup of knowing the king, i might go this summer. you were born in ghana, in cape coast. >> yes. tavis: how long were you there? >> my teenage years, and then i went to london, because i was with my mom, and she was afraid

that the more i got closer, i might not be able to function, so she threw me out and told me i had to go out there and experience is something for myself. i am going to educate you on what you need to do, and since i love food, she said to me to study catering. i went to england. there was an ambassador. i came back, and we went to see him, and he helped me to get a job at the embassy, and i have been there since. tavis: how long? >> over 30 years. tavis: 30 years. >> yes. tavis: how often would you go back, prior to this phone call? >> every year. since then, -- before that, i

used to go every other year. tavis: ok, you were born in a place that you had not been back to for over a decade, and the phone rings monday, if you hear what on the other end of the fund? >> in the morning in august 2008, and the phone rang, and it was 4:00 in the morning, and my brother would tend to call me at that kind of the day, and i thought that was my brother, and the telephone kept on running. i picked up the phone, and when i picked up the phone, i heard my cousins saying, "nana," and that is a name given to a woman of stature, and i said, "nana, what do you mean?" is sports, in the morning in the united states, and if you do not hang up, i am going to hang up with you."

he said, "nana, your uncle has gone to the village, and he is not going to be coming home any time soon," meaning he was dead. "your name came up, and you have been chosen as king." tavis: let's back up, because there are two or three things that make the story fascinating to me. speaking of the culture in ghana, there was a process where the new king is selected, and it involves libation, but there is something that has to happen for the person's name to, to be selected as the king. back up and tell me that part of the story, a fascinating part of the story. >> the eldest of the family. they take data of all of the

young ones, educated, high- quality morals, not being a bad person, stealing, knows how to really relate to people, and then after that, they would sit down and make sure that this person is from the royal family. the mother is here. if there are three sisters, all of the three sisters would comment -- come in, and after that, they go and pour the vibration in the shrine -- the libation in the shrine. tavis: what has to happen to know that the name whose name is called is going to be king? >> they went to the shrine. they have to pour the libation, and then they mention your name. if it sinks to the ground, it

meanst is not to be. 5 males, and i was the only female. why they added me as a female, i do not know. they have never chosen a female before. they mentioned my name, and they looked at each other, and it came up, and then i was chosen. tavis: 3 times to believe that this woman is the [laughter] king. >> [laughter] yes. tavis: how rare in ghanaian culture is it for a woman to be king? >> very rare. only three, and i am the third one. we now have one in the central region, which is me, and it is very, very rare. tavis: what is the role of the king in gonna -- ghana?

>> to make sure that there is no education, to make sure they have education. if the water is not of great quality, to help them to have water. the infrastructure, a library, and also to make sure that everybody is under control, and that is what the king is supposed to do, make sure that it is up to par with the world. tavis: this is obviously a very high honor. how did the king engaging elected officials? ghana is one of the best democracies on the african continent. how do you engage with the elected leadership of >> actually, being the king, you are not supposed to mingle with politics. you have to be neutral. if they are coming to asking for a favor, you have to be very, very careful. tavis: there are some issues i would sit -- kucinich connect to

the running of things. >> things to do for your people, and you even go to the minister of water and works to talk to him about the water, so the ministry to ask for help, but for any reason, they are more than happy to come and help. tavis: your village of otuam is about 7000 people? >> 7000. tavis: the challenges you have, specifically in otuam, when he became king? >> there was no running water. the children have to travel out of otuam if they want to go to school, and the girls mostly, they come home pregnant. a child coming home pregnant.

and the library. they did not have a library. you know that english is the official language in ghana, and they do not have books to read or computers. now you have to have good computers for them to be able to main goal. -- to mingle. the water they were drinking was not good, and there was the funds. there was a lot of male chauvinism. tavis: i was going to ask about this, since it is so rare in the culture of ghana. how do you deal with the sexes and and the patriarchy of being king? >> i made them aware that i really have the strength of a male, and i could compete with

them. tavis: so you, as i said earlier, remarkably, which makes this a fascinating, you still hold your job at the ghanaian embassy in washington, so you fly back and forth? >> yes. and normally take my vacation in september. that is supposed to be my anniversary. i do come backg12dg1hwán, and id call them and discuss things with them, and it also takes care of business while i am here. tavis: how do you manage all of this when you are working full- time at the embassy and are responsible for a sizable village in another country? >> let me tell you, it is something that god has really blessed me with spiritually, because i do not get tired.

when i have time, i do not want to sit idle and do nothing. i want to make sure that everything is in order. if there is something i want to do, i call my -- or some of the elders, and we discuss it. it helps me a lot, and i love it. tavis: are you skyping? >> on the telephone. i do not want them to see my face. i want them to hear my voice. tavis: do they not want to see the king sometimes prove -- sometimes? you have laid the law down. what was your response when you went to your boss at the embassy to say, "i have been elected king"? >> there was some difficulty about whether to accept it or not, and i went to my boss and

said, "i need to talk to you." and my boss said, "what have you done now? are you arguing with somebody?" and he offered me a seat, and i said, "boss, i am going to be a king." and he looked at me so seriously, and i said, "what are you looking at me like that, boss?" i think he was really surprised that we do not have very many women in ghana who are king, so to come early in the morning to tell him this -- i said i was really not exaggerating it or am tired. i am telling i told him i had to ask permission to go home or my coronation, and i went to my office, and in a few minutes, my boss called me again on the intercom and said, "are you ok?"

and i said," i am ok, boss." and he said, "i want you to come in here and tell me again. you are a king and not a queen?" tavis: what was the coronation like? i know in ghana, i have been there a number of times, this is a nation that was big on ceremony. what was the ceremony like? >> riggins. a lot of food, a lot of drink, drumming and dancing, and in a room for 10 days. they were coaching me. how to walk, how to eat, what to do. and they are coaching you, and the family members and the town people will be out there, drinking.

normally, it is quite a big thing for three days. tavis: to the customs that the king is supposed to adhere to, what are some of the things that you can no longer do or things that you now have to do differently because you are the king? you mentioned eating and drinking and being in public. what are some of the things that you can no longer do now? >> historically speaking, when i am in ghana, i cannot eat in public. for example, i cannot go in a restaurant. i cannot say a word. i have to smile and wave. tavis: you cannot drink in public. what about in private? >> in private, i might. [laughs] tavis: but not in the public. >> not in the public.

"i am going out there to tell them what you are telling me in here," my brother would say. i think it is better for us because i do not think as a king you want to disrespect for family. you have to be dignified, and they have a notion that maybe there are so many people within e. coli, being a woman king, they would be jobless of view -- many people with an evil eye, being a woman came, they would be jealous of you. -- a woman king, they would be jealous. if i am in public and and drinking water, if i leave and come back, i cannot drink the water anymore. tavis: you got the call in 2008. how is this process working out? how is the journey? >> it has been wonderful. i have been able to help them.

a baptist church in landover, md., a pastor, being able to help me to bring about some things. thousands of dollars out of their own pockets. and at the baptist church in landover, md., taking 20 children whose parents cannot afford to take them to school and educating them up to the university level. this will really make me happy. that i am a good king and i am helping my people. transforming. tavis: today, you have on your traditional african king's attire. do you wear this most days at the embassy? >> no, i put on a regular african dress. if i put this on at the office, i would not be able to function,

and they would not be able to use me the way that they would want to, because here is a king. to make things easy for me, i think of how i was before i became a king and do my secretarial office duties. tavis: how do your co-workers tree to now that you are a king? when i walked in here, they say, "what do you think you are, a king of?" that is how i get treated. >> my ambassador, very well. he respects me a lot, and i respect him a lot. tavis: he respects the tradition. >> yes, he respects me, and he calls me "nana," and my co-

workers, i also treat them with respect, because i was with them before i became a king, and i want to be humble, as my mother taught me. in my role, i try to do it in a way where i block my mind when i in in the office. i am a king, but i am a secretary. helping my people. i have to be very humble to be able to relate to my co-workers. i do not want them to think it is getting to me. they know the culture, and they know what a king is all about gifts they give me that respect, and i give them respect, also. tavis: this is widely ghanaian people are so friendly. i do not know one american that can one day be named a king and be able to go back to the job and not only do it but to be good at doing it and find joy in doing it. i am trying to figure out how you are still doing this job as

secretary and loving obviously what you do when in your native country, you are a royalty preferred -- were guilty? >> i am a secretary before i am a king -- when it in your native country, you are a king? >> i am a secretary before i am a king, and i get a salary. i normally send them money. easter gifts. from the little salary i make. if there was that i was not a secretary, i could not send them that. [laughs] tavis: that just does not fit. so how is the palace back in otuam? >> i renovated it.

after my coronation, it was really a mess. i remember during my coronation, i was sitting down talking, and i saw the paint coming down. it falls on our head, and i said, "you expect me to come and live here?" i had to help them to renovate it. tavis: so what do the young girls in the village think about their future now, about their life, now that they look at a king everyday that is a woman? >> they are happy. i have had a couple of occasions to talk with them. that they should concentrate on their education, and they should be very serious with it, and they looked at me as a role model, and i tell them you have to be really serious about what you do and become something. you may not become a king or a queen, but you may become

something, a doctor, a politician, a lawyer, so they look up to me, and most of the time i go to the village, they come and visit me and talk to me. to be very serious about their lives. to be something some day. tavis: i will go back to something you said in the conversation that you went right past. you mentioned you never had children. you were at one. married. >> yes. tavis: and i will let you tell the story about what you are not married right now and what kids had to do with it. >> i wanted to have about 10 kids, and we tried, with all the technology in the united states, and we could not do it. my husband's family had him to go home for family business, and i know he did not go because i was not having a child, that they wanted help with the family business, but then i thought

there'd be no way that he would leave me to go back to have a family business if i had children, and i was very sad. to try all that you could, to not bring a child who is sick on to the earth, and you would not be happy. that is exactly what i did. i went to see all of these people, and then i said, "this is what god has for me." for some reason, it did not happen, but now i have 7000 people. tavis: is your ex-husband still alive? >> yes. tavis: and what did he say about his ex-wife being the king? >> i have not given him a divorce yet.

they had gone to him and said that his wife was going to be a king. do you know what you're getting yourself into? tavis: [laughs] i love the sense of humor. i love the humility. i love a good story. to be sure, this is a good one. it is called "king peggy: an american secretary, her royal destiny, and the inspiring story of how she changed an african village." and i might add is changing still an african village. king peggy, i am honored to have you on the program, and i might meet you in otuam this september. >> if they want to donate, they can go to kingpeggy.com, and we would use the money for the

otuam project. we will love to have them. the book is out. tavis: i am delighted you said that. thank you for being on the program. my pleasure. that is our show for tonht. thank c4 tune in to pbs, and keep the faith. -- thank you for tune in to pps. -- tuning in. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with some actresses nominated for an academy award, viola davis and octavia's spencer. that is next time. we will see you then. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where walmart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

>> be more. pbs.

>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank.