Ghana by Andre Campbell

First off, I just want to show my appreciation to the people who were able to make this experience possible for me. The entire team at TrueCultureUniversity.com for not only providing me with a platform to share my thoughts and experiences with my brothers and sisters across the diaspora, but also being an active advocate for black liberation and being a partner of 3GC. Tito, Gideon, Derrick, Benji, thank you guys; Trigmatic for being so supportive and welcoming to Auntie Bev and 3GC; and Dr. Beverly Booker Ammah, or Auntie Bev. You’ve really shown me what it means to be a servant leader and an effective advocate for change, so thank you as well. Enjoy. 

This summer I had the opportunity to do a service- learning trip in Ghana for 12 day Before the trip, I wasn’t too sure what to expect.  I knew that Ghana was where the Gold Coast was located, and it’s where Africans who were once engineers, teachers, farmers, fathers, daughters, and more were stolen from the continent and forced into slavery but that’s where my knowledge of Ghana ceased. Despite being nervous, I was also excited. Here I was, a young Black man from Southfield, Michigan, about to journey back to the Motherland at the age of 22. 

Did you know that in addition to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Europeans are responsible for partitioning Africa in 1884 at the Berlin Conference? While Africans were captured and enslaved, many African communities and villages were now being colonized. And what’s the one common consequence from both? Black people and struggle.  We both are battling oppression and social injustice issues in our countries as a result of European interference. The entire trip, I’ve been thinking about this concept and what it means to me. What is Pan-Africanism?

Out of the many definitions of Pan-Africanism, the one that seems to spell out the true meaning of Pan-Africanism without other influences is the liberation of all black people, Dr. Beverly Booker Ammah. Pan-Africanism is about liberating black people, that is all. No more, no less. And to be liberated is to be free, and to be free is to have peace.

There is strength in numbers. And while we are working towards resolving our own issues within our countries, we must also band together to fight this WORLD issue of black oppression as a unit, rather than individuals.

By Andre Campbell

3GC Summer 2019 Participant

3GC Technology Outreach Specialist

Howard University 2019 Alumnus