HABARI GANI: SFPL AFRICAN AMERICAN CENTER: June 2011

El Mina Castle- El Mina, Ghana (photo credit S Shaw)

The GOOD-
This is the start of a three part series dealing with just a few things that is good, bad and ugly within African and African American History. Not just the things blacks have done to and for themselves, but the hurts and harms slung against the backs of them as a people. For the Good, lets start where the journey for many black slaves to the Americas began- in Africa in the country of Ghana.
During the Transatlantic Slave Trade the ports of Ghana played a major role in the embarkation of slaves to the Americas. Elmina and Cape Coast Castles were key trading post in timber, gold and slaves- first with the Portuguese, then Dutch finally the British.

So why is Ghana and slavery the first posting in the series, and why is it under The Good? Well through all of the bad of the slave trade and slavery and Ghana’s role in it, there is a lot of beauty and grace and hope in Ghana. The area around Cape Coast and El Mina Castles are bustling with tourism, the colorful boats of local fisherman and Ghanaians going about their daily lives. There is too much Good here, not to start here in Ghana and on the continent from which the African Diaspora started.

Since the 1960's Ghana has opened it's heart and doors to African Americans wanting to visit the land of their ancestors and many African Americans have traveled there and some even now call Ghana home. Ghana is a mix of modern and traditional, the two being found side by side even in the biggest citites, and its people have been called the friendliest on the continent. Ghana is a beautiful country- it's people and scenery. From Accra, to Cape Coast, to Legon and the Kakum National Park region vitality and a sense of life abounds. Below find a few photos of Ghana and a list of books on the country.