Smithsonian Journeys - Ghana: What We Carry Forward

Ghana occupies a singular and resonant place within the story of African American history and global Black identity. As the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence in 1957, Ghana became both a political and spiritual lodestar of Pan-Africanism—welcoming figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Maya Angelou, and Kwame Nkrumah into shared dialogues on freedom, cultural sovereignty, and diasporic return. This legacy continues to shape contemporary connections between Ghana and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, whose mission to document Black life, history, and culture aligns deeply with Ghana’s role as a site of origin, memory, and renewal. This immersive journey is conceived as a living archive—one that moves across historical landmarks, contemporary cultural spaces, culinary traditions, and intellectual salons to explore the continuities between past, present, and imagined futures. Through encounters with artists, chefs, historians, and cultural practitioners, you will engage Ghana not as a static destination, but as a dynamic cultural force—shaping global conversations on reparations, restitution, food systems, and Black futures. The program invites reflection, dialogue, and embodied learning, rooted in place and sustained through community.