Learning Untold African and Black Histories in Ghana
I recently spent 10 wonderful days in Accra, Ghana researching the untold African and Black histories of education, liberation, creativity, and collaboration.
In early 2017, I started a research project during my first year of doctoral studies that explores the secondary and tertiary schooling years (1929-1945) of Ghana’s first president and Pan-Africanist leader, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, after learning that he was a PennGSE alumni. My research first led me to the Langston Hughes Memorial Library Archives at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, a Historically Black College & University (HBCU) where Nkrumah completed his undergraduate education. Next, I explored the Kwame Nkrumah Archives at the University of Pennsylvania where he completed graduate studies in Education and Philosophy. Insights from my research led to the creation of the The Kwame Nkrumah Distinguished Alumni Award at PennGSE in 2019.
Last week, I finally traveled to Accra, Ghana to learn more about Nkrumah’s early student years at Achimota College as well as his later years of his life and that of African-American Civil Rights Activists and former Penn sociology instructor, Dr. W.E.B Dubois.
There were many deeply inspiring aspects of this trip to Accra but most notable were my visits to:
Dubois’ home and where he is buried and the ashes of his wife, Shirley Dubois, are placed bedside him;
Achimota College, where Nkrumah attended secondary school under the teaching and mentorship of Ghanaian educator, Dr. James Aggrey;
Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park where Nkrumah is buried and his Egyptian-born wife, Fathia Nkrumah, is buried next to him.
I’m currently working on a manuscript on how the academic influences of renowned Ghanaian educator, Dr. James Aggrey, Nigeria’s first president, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Ghana’s first president, Dr.Kwame Nkrumah at American colleges and universities shaped their philosophies on Pan-Africanism and approaches towards Black liberation. It’s been great learning about the early educational experiences of these notable African leaders.
