Why African Americans Are Moving to Ghana.
Ghana is a Sub-Saharan African country that is officially known as the Republic of Ghana.
It is bordered on the west by the Ivory Coast, on the north by Burkina Faso,
and on the east by Togo, and on the south by the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean.
Ghana spans 238,535 square kilometers and is home to a diverse range of biomes, from coastal
savannas to tropical rain forests. With around 31 million people, Ghana is the second-most populous
country in West Africa, after Nigeria. Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana. Kumasi,
Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi are also important cities. Accra, Ghana's capital, is estimated to
have between 3,000 and 5,000 African Americans. They are teachers in rural communities in the west
or entrepreneurs in the capital, and they claim that despite the challenges of living in Ghana,
they feel free and protected. The majority of these African Americans are returning to Africa
for a variety of reasons that are only known to them. Others complain about racial segregation,
while others claim that educational qualities are undervalued because they work for little
or no pay. Today, we'll travel to Ghana to learn more about why African Americans
are returning to the country. As we travel, please like and subscribe to Africa Reloaded.
Ghana's Year of Return is a celebration of the country's return to its former The
year 2019 is a government of Ghana initiative to encourage African diasporans to return to Africa,
namely Ghana, to stay and invest. President Nana Akufo-Addo publicly inaugurated it in September
2018 in Washington, D.C. as an initiative for Africans in the diaspora to join with Africans.
The year 2019 is notable because it represents 400 years since the first
enslaved Africans arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, in the United States of America.
The event also recognizes the achievements and sacrifices made by the diaspora since that time.
Panafest, Ghana's biannual Pan African Historical Theatre Project,
has invited African Americans and others from the African Diaspora to Ghana since 1992,
and it will be a part of Ghana's Year of Return celebrations in 2019. Accra and Cape Coast, among
other locales, host the festival. The festival's purpose is to promote African solidarity,
Pan-Africanism, and the continent's development. This festival features performances and work in
the disciplines of theatre, theater, music, and poetry, among other things. There are also trips
to a number of important locations, such as the slave fortress dungeons and the leaders' durbar.
Reasons For the Movement. Ghana’s Independence.
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the west coast of Africa. On March 6, 1957, the Gold Coast,
renamed Ghana, became the first colony in Africa's Sub-Saharan region to gain independence from
European colonial control under the leadership of its first president, Kwame Nkrumah.
The newly-established nation's image as Africa's first independent republic, as well as Nkrumah's
actions as president, were important factors in the migration of African Americans to Ghana.
20th Century Migration. Following Ghana's independence in the mid-1950s,
a new era of African American immigration to the country began.
African Americans, particularly civil rights advocates such as W. E. B. Du Bois and Julian
Bond, immigrated to Ghana to aid the country's development while avoiding bigotry in the United
States. Some people relocated to Ghana because of the country's Cold War neutrality. Kwame Nkrumah
fought tirelessly to keep Ghana free of Western and Soviet influences, and Black expatriates,
particularly revolutionaries, saw this as an opportunity to air their grievances without facing
the backlash they faced in the United States. Nkrumah allowed African Americans into Ghana and
even brought American civil rights leaders into his inner circle as advisors and political allies,
knowing that Ghana's success and the independence of every other country on the African continent
would require global connections. African American perspective of Ghana.
Ghana's independence changed African-American opinions of the continent dramatically. This is
because, for the first time, Africa exceeded America in terms of factual reality as well
as what it appeared to represent symbolically. Ghana became the new "Promised Land" for African
Americans as a result. When Ghana became a free country, it carried with it the aspirations and
dreams of Africans. For African-Americans, Ghana was a source of inspiration, indicating
that Africa was not the barbaric place that it was supposed to be. It forced African-Americans
to rethink their attitudes toward post-colonial Africa and its prospects. Ghana served as a haven
for African-Americans fleeing discrimination in the United States, as well as the reaction they
got for denouncing the racist American society. Because they were surrounded by Africans,
African Americans believed they may be reunited with long-lost kin in their homeland. However,
some argue that African Americans' preconceived notions of Africa hindered their experiences in
Ghana. According to Derek Catsam, "the African American perspective of Africa has typically been
no less warped, but has been distinguished by romance, fetishism, and nostalgia."
African American involvement in Ghanaian Politics.
"Black American activists who migrated to Ghana to engage with Pan-Africanist and socialist ideology
under the tutelage of Ghana's President Kwame Nkrumah and African diasporan political exiles"
(Commander 6) were frequently drawn into Ghanaian politics, either indirectly or explicitly. Maya
Angelou, for example, developed friendships with Ghanaian officials and even Nkrumah himself,
allowing them to wield political power. They used their voices to criticize and
praise Ghana's administration, as well as to influence how the country was run.
Ghanaian Culture. The African-American
Association of Ghana is one of the organizations established to assist Ghana's Afro-Americans.
These institutions provide African Americans with a sense of belonging. They're in a place
where they won't be left out. They live in a world where everything is within their grasp.
In terms of economy, infrastructure, and social development,
Ghana is one of the best countries in West Africa. African Americans moving to
Ghana will have a significant impact on the economy and stimulate economic development
in Ghana and Africa as a whole. If you enjoyed this video, please like, share,
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