Ghana was the last stop for many slaves before they were shipped out of Africa during the Atlantic slave trade (which lasted roughly 350 years). Consequently, it is usually the first stop for black people in the diaspora tracing their roots. (Ghana was also the first sub-Saharan African country to gain its independence in 1957, when it dropped the British name, The Gold Coast.)

For repatriates, there are still a few kinks to be straightened out, as Seestah Imahkus points out. For instance, “indigenous” Africans don’t immediately see diasporan repatriates as “African”, and can’t understand why anyone would want to move to Ghana from America, particularly when so many “Africans” want to move to the States. 


The Sankofa Project
The Sankofa Project is geneology initiative reuniting families disconnected by slavery, and reconnecting diasporan Africans with their roots.

The word “sankofa” comes from the Akan language, and roughly translates as “We must go back and reclaim our past to move forward.”


Vidz posted by globalfusion and Ralph Watkins


Related posts
Ghana through the lens of sports, music and the arts
Dropping rhymes at one of Ghana's slave castles
What is Ghana were to win the 2010 World Cup


External links
The Sankofa Project
Seestah Imahkus (Facebook)
An illuminating transcript of a discussion between repatriates and “native” Ghanaians
Time line of Ghana and the slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade (Wikipedia)

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