ghana
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10 Thoughts and Observations About My First Trip to Ghana (and Africa)
When I got married in October 2018, my wife and I broached the idea of going to Accra, Ghana, for our honeymoon. Now, this wasn’t a random “Let’s go to Africa!” ideation; I’d never been to the African continent in any of my travels and had wanted to go, and my wife grew up in…
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An Open Letter to All the Disrespectful Negroes Who Went to Ghana and Ditched Us in Triflin'-Ass America
Firstly, I hate each and every one of you. Secondly, I’m not even sure if “firstly” is a word—it felt awkward in my mouth, like peanut butter on potato chips—but it fits with what I’m saying, so it will be today. But thirdly (and most importantly), why did you do this to us? Of course, “us”…
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I'm About to Get My Year of the Return on in Ghana and I'm Stressing Over What and How Many Shoes to Bring
What started out as a thought about going to Ghana for our honeymoon in 2018 has me and my wife preparing to head back to her home country in a few days. My wife—who was born in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, but grew up in Accra, Ghana, until moving to the United States in the early…
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Now That I’ve Gotten My DNA Results, I Don’t Know Who to Root for in the World Cup, but Cameroon Makes the Best Jollof Rice
2017 and 2018 have been years of exploration and discovery for me so far. I’ve taken time to examine a lot about my identity as a black biracial dude and started to look into family dynamics and how they relate to that identity politic. To up that ante, I’ve also begun digging into my ancestry…
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Make Wakanda Real by Embracing Your African Roots
Growing up as a Ghanaian American in Central Massachusetts during the 1980s was a constant series of “firsts.” I checked boxes identifying myself as a “first-generation” American. I was the first child of my African immigrant parents to take ballet and gymnastic classes. I was their first Girl Scout, first overpriced prom experience and first…
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I Paid Attention to the Cotton Fields of Alabama for the 1st Time
I’m a Southerner. Like most of my fellow military brats, I spent a considerable amount of my youth growing up in Europe (in my case, Frankfurt, Germany), but I was raised by two black Southerners—my father and stepmother—and during the summers, I split time between Michigan (where my birth mother lives; I hate making these…
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Tracing Your Roots: Was My Ancestor Deported to Ghana?
A series of run-ins with law enforcement in the United Kingdom splits a family apart. Now the family is seeking answers. Dear Professor Gates: I’m trying to trace my great-grandfather, whose name was either David Sebe Agyemah Darku or David Sebe Agyeman Darku. He was sent to jail in England for a high-profile crime involving…
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Ghana to Ban Skin-Bleaching Products in August
Colorism, which privileges lighter skin over darker, is an issue that not affects not only African Americans but pretty much all people of color around the world. From India to Brazil to Belize, one of the ways in which colorism rears its ugly head is in skin bleaching. We have all seen photos of celebrities…