To me there is no such thing as a black woman in Ghana. I’m a woman in Ghana.
Living in the US, all of the seats are taken, all the big brands are there, where here,
you have an opportunity to create a seat at the table.
It’s significant to know where you belong and where you came from. For Angela Matthews
and Cindy Meyers this morning marks the start of a trip they never thought they would make.
I think of our grandparents who wish they could have gone back but we are doing it for
them.
The sisters are getting ready to travel to Ghana, in West Africa - for the first time.
This group could have visited this country at anytime
but they chose to make the journey this year.
Ghana is encouraging more descendants of the slave trade to retrace their roots.
They’ve called 2019 the year of return.
It’s 400 years after the first enslaved Africans arrived in what is now the US.
This is Cape Coast Castle.
It was one of the most important African bases for British slave traders during the 18th
century.
Historians believe at least twelve million people were shipped from West Africa to plantations
in the Americas and the Caribbean.
“As we walk down the dungeons, let me say that this is the real dungeon in Ghana.”
I never thought I would make this trip never. My sister and I are the first generation to
make it here and it is just truly amazing, truly amazing.
For Angela and her sister, the trip to the castle and its dungeons holds a special meaning.
They recently took a DNA test and discovered they have Ghanaian heritage - meaning their
ancestors may have been held in these cells. I'm so grateful to be here and to be here
with my ancestors it gives me great joy and i feel like I'm home.
Thank you in gratitude to every ancestor from my bloodline, thank you for being strong enough
to make it. I’m sorry you had to go through this.
You know this place is very saddening to see how they were treated. So inhumane. I mean
who would do that? Why? Money? It’s just were saddening.
Enslaved Africans were pushed through the ‘Door of No Return’ and onto waiting ships.
For many it would be the last time they would see the continent.
But being here, taking my shoes off, getting into the water, the Atlantic Ocean. I felt
at peace, I felt home, I felt like all of my ancestors and we were reunited. It was
just a wonderful feeling.
For some black Americans Ghana is more than a holiday destination…
This is very busy hustle and bustle, right down the street is Oxford Street, the main
street where people go out…
Ghana’s economy is attracting young people who are searching for more than their identity.
My name is Voltaire Xodus, I’m a consultant and I’m a founder of the company WeUp.
I’ve been here five weeks and when I’ve hit the ground I tried to build my network
as much as possible going out to different spaces and events.
You are new in Ghana, you are not really familiar with the African prints.
I’m trying to combine things that you can wear in Ghana, and wear out there.
But why would someone who has never even visited Ghana before choose to move there?
For me being in business, it’s an opportunity to be a part of creating a city and a country
that’s emerging. So, living in the US all the seats are taken,
all the big brands are there and where here the cement is wet and you have an opportunity
to create a seat at the table. Everybody is born with a gift. The question
is how much do you water that seed of potential.
But he admits it’s not just about business. The main differences between my life in Ghana
and the US, is the peace. Ghana is a very peaceful place.
That’s where you get comments from your friends ‘be safe’ – and they actually
live in Chicago Illinois. There is a lot of violence in the city of
Chicago. So, the irony is if someone in Chicago is asking me to be safe in a place that’s
peaceful, but that’s partly tied to the imagery that they are fed every day.
This is Lakeshia Ford.
Five years ago, she decided to move Ghana to start a new life -and with it came a new
sense of identity. To me there is no such thing as a black woman
in Ghana. I’m a woman in Ghana - we are all black.
I don’t see colour here because I’m a part of the majority and I think that’s
a privilege and a luxury.
She was born and brought up in the US and her move to Ghana was about starting her own
business - but it became more than that.
This place, as in the African continent, specifically Ghana, has restauration for people of colour
in the diaspora. I want to show people that this is not just an alternative but a real
option to live your life and be successful. We found two partners that help us with sponsorship…
Lakeshia has no plans to move back to the US and she’s encouraging others to join
her. Any black person that is in the diaspora,
a trip needs to be made to the African continent, there’s almost this undefined closure that
happens. You don’t even know you need closure in a certain light but coming here you get
it and there is almost an alignment that happens.
Back at the tour group – Angela, Cindy and the other travellers have also been able to
discover a different side to Ghana.
The country estimates the number of tourists wanting to find out about their heritage will
increase by up by 40% this year.
For Angela, retracing her roots has changed how she looks at her home country.
In this time with all the things that are going on in our country, with our current
president, it’s significant to know where you belong and where you came from.
For me coming back here, reuniting with my ancestors, makes me feel at home, I have a
culture I have a people, I belong.
That’s the significance it has for me.