Some 250 African-Americans gathered at the Cape Coast Castle, Ghana, to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first ship of enslaved Africans to English North America in 1619.

While this was ongoing, tens and thousands of African-Americans had assembled at the Chesapeake Bay in Hampton, Virginia, to also commemorate the same activity.

At an emotional ceremony at the Cape Coast Castle, one of about forty slave castles built in the Gold Coast (Ghana), over 70 families discovered their ancestry during the African Ancestry DNA reveal which is arguably the largest ever in the continent.

AfricanAncestry.com used its most comprehensive database of indigenous African genetic sequences in existence to trace their ancestry back to specific present-day African countries and ethnic groups of origin dating back more than 500 years ago, the only company that can do that.

“We intentionally planned for it to happen at the same time history tells us the ships arrived in the US. To touch the water on both sides of the globe where the ships landed and from where they left 400+ years ago helps to sustain the paradigm shift we feel of Africans throughout the diaspora longing to return at the tectonic plate level under the ocean floor through our bodies on earth up through and above the clouds with thunder and lightning,” says Diallo Sumbry, President and CEO of The Adinkra Group, curators of the historic Jamestown to Jamestown trip to Ghana in partnership with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

He disclosed in an interview that: “The return is spiritual in nature but manifests itself physically as it requires our bodies to physically return in order to invoke all our senses. Our spirits have been longing to return for a while,” adds Diallo Sumbry who is also Ghana’s first African-American Tourism Ambassador.

The historic Jamestown to Jamestown trip, co-facilitated by Sunseekers Tours and the Ghana Tourism Authority, enabled 250 people including actor, Danny Glover, to go on the tour from Jamestown, Virginia, to Jamestown, Accra, to trace their ancestry.

It started with a prayer vigil and candle light ceremony on August 18 in Jamestown, Virginia, where the English ship, White Lion, “brought not anything but 20 and odd Negroes” as noted by John Rolfe, the plantation owner and official overseeing the colony.

The 250 African Americans visited the Smithsonian Museum of African American history before moving to Ghana aboard a South African Airways flight.

They were welcomed with a royal durbar in Ghana which was joined by Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the chiefs and people of Jamestown, Accra. It was followed by a two-day African-American Business Summit and a black-tie gala.

After the African Ancestry DNA reveal in Cape Coast, the participants visited the Assin Manso Ancestral Slave River Park aka the “Last Bath” and they performed a similar ceremony as in Jamestown, Virginia, where they captured water from the James River and wrote a message to their ancestors in a notecard and placed in a bonfire.

“Most participants felt the range of emotions that many feel when they visit. Anger, sadness, confusion, frustration, humility, gratitude and a sense of relief when you understand how much resilience this requires and distance from which we’ve come,” Sumbry explains.

“There was a family which was from the Akan people of Ghana. A grandmother, mother and two daughters. Three generations found out their maternal lineage came from Ghana,” he adds.

The participants visited other sites and events in the country including the Akwasidae festival in Ejisu, the Kumasi craft villages in Ahiwaa, Ntonso Craft Village, Bonwire Kente Weaving Village, Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, W.E.B. DuBois Centre in Accra and Arts Center among many other places.

“Jamestown to Jamestown was designed to be a tremendous success and a cornerstone of the Year of Return which I believe we’ve accomplished with the partnership of African Ancestry. More importantly, the impact after the partnership with the NAACP is what makes this journey and mission historic,” says Diallo Sumbry.

Before their departure, the African-Americans are expected to keep a lasting memory of the journey in their hearts and maintain their connection with the continent where their ancestors called home.

Source: ghanaweb

American actress, Choreographer and fitness trainer Adrienne- Joi Johnson popularly known in the showbiz circles as AJ Johnson believes Ghana is a haven for those seeking inner peace and a pure connection with their roots, unlike Hollywood.

The veteran actress who featured in 1992 hit movie ‘Sister Act’ expressed how refreshing it was to leave behind the hustle and sometimes exaggerated lifestyle that Hollywood has become famous for.

In an interview with Citi News’ Nana Adwoa Sarkodie, she stated that being in Ghana makes her feel complete.

“Ghana is a place of safety and security to learn my true history and to be aware of who I really am and my soul primarily because as an African American when I come to Ghana it is really obvious to me that I was abducted.

The 400 years has created a major gap and there is a lot of separation between us as people that I don’t believe should be there between culture, food, art, language and entertainment.

For me it is a very welcoming and safe place because I feel at home here and so even though this is the year of return I do feel like this is home and I feel like at this point I’m going back to the states to create and I come back here for home,” she explained.

She added that the authenticity of Ghana and its people makes it her preferred choice when she needs to leave the regular work hustle of Hollywood to truly be herself.

Safety and security for me mean a place to try and not be afraid to fail whether it is the Twi language whether it is African food or just bonding with people.

“I feel open, I feel transparent and I feel like I can be genuine.

“I have lived in Hollywood for a long time and that’s the land of make-belief, we get rewarded in Hollywood for pretending and this is a place of truth and respect.

“I feel like an American if you come understanding that this is a place to be yourself you will be welcomed,” she concluded.

During her short stint in Ghana which centred around the Year of Return, A.J Johnson took time out to engage and share expertise with stakeholders within the Ghanaian movie and creative fraternity on how to enhance and market their craft.

Source: ghanaweb.com

The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has begun a nationwide training and sensitization programme for informal food and beverage sector.

The programme which began today at the Accra Technical University brought together food vendors from within and around the Central Business District of the capital city to discuss issues of food hygiene and proper ways of handling food and beverage for mass consumption.

Facilitators took the participants through topics such as, Food Safety and Hygiene, Food and Beverage Services with officials of GTA also sensitizing them on the 1% Tourism Levy which is required to be paid by entities within the tourism and hospitality industry. The vendors were also introduced to basic Finance and Accounting (Bookkeeping) in order for them to cultivate record-keeping habits.

Speaking to the media, Deputy CEO of GTA in Charge of Operations, Ekow Sampson averred that a larger portion of labour within the tourism and hospitality space is in the informal sector, hence the rationale behind the organization of the event.

According to him, with 2019 as the Year of Return especially, it was very imperative that food and beverage vendors were trained to apply best and healthy practices as they serve the consuming public who may be coming from all over the world.

“Research shows that unhygienic food contributes about 59.8% to food-borne diseases such as cholera and about 16.9% also comes from food poisoning, so we needed to address that. Secondly, there is also issue of quality service delivery, it is happening throughout all the tourism sectors, especially within the informal sector. So we want to get them to know the essence of providing good service delivery,” he stressed.

The training and sensitization programme continues to Tema on Thursday, August 29, 2019 and in the coming days and will be held across the country until 24th September 2019 when it ends.

Source: Voyages Afriq

American comedian and Television Host, Steve Harvey is heading to the African continent with his popular show ‘Family Feud’.

His company, Steve Harvey Global, has obtained rights to launch and host Ghanaian and South African versions of the television show.

Harvey’s company got the franchise license from Fremantle, a British international television content and production/distribution subsidiary of Bertelsmann’s RTL Group.

“Bringing Family Feud to Africa has long been a dream of mine,” says Harvey, who has hosted ‘Family Feud’ since 2010.

“I believe Family Feud will become a household name for local South African and Ghanaian families. And this is just the beginning in Africa. I expect this show to lead to multiple media and business projects in and throughout the continent,” he added.

‘Family Feud’ features two families competing to name the most popular responses to gathered survey questions in order to win cash and prizes is one of television’s longest-running and top-rated game shows watched by audiences around the world.

It is available in over 70 international markets including the U.S., United Kingdom, Australia, France, India, Indonesia, and now Ghana and South Africa.

Production will start in October 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and will air in mid-2020.

As part of activities to mark this year’s World Folklore Day, the National Folklore Board (NFB) on Friday, August 23, presented licenses to companies that have duly gained permission for the use of Adinkra symbols in running their businesses.

The Board visited three entities including the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), Kempinski Hotel, Gold Coast City and MTN Ghana to present them their licenses for having applied for permission, provided the needed documents and consequently paid the fees required for the authorization of their usage. NFB had also presented licence to the Accra Brewery Limited the day before.

In a speech, Acting Director of the Ghana Folklore Board, Nana Adjoa Adubea Asante said Ghana’s heritage is something that should be promoted and protected, adding that the their commemoration of World Folklore Day is focused on encouraging other entities using Ghana’s folklore expressions outside the authorized space to seek permission and engage with the board on its legal and accepted process.

To the recipients of the licenses, Ghana Stock Exchange, Kempinski and MTN Ghana, using Ghana’s folklore such as the Adinkra symbols has proved to be a great starting point for their brands by showcasing the country’s authentic cultural heritage while deepening the fact that their brands are Ghanaian at heart.

 

Kempinski hotel has the Adinkra symbol “Funtunfunafu-Dnεkyεmfunafu” as its logo. Its literal meaning – “the Siamese crocodiles that have one stomach yet fight over food” symbolizing “Unity in Diversity”.

MTN Ghana as a multinational brand has proved its firm local roots with the use of Adinkra symbols on their starter packs as a way of promoting the country’s folklore.

Nana Adjoa said these companies and all others processing their licenses have been diligent in their compliance with the law by respecting what is uniquely Ghanaian and relevant.

She admonished folklore users to desist from using artefacts for commercial purposes without authorization by the board, emphasizing that doing the contrary will attract stern consequential penalties.

“We should be proud of who we are, we must promote and protect what we have and pass this on to the next generation in good condition” She noted.

In case you haven’t already gotten the memo – 2019 is all about Ghana. The country’s “Year of Return” campaign has Black people from across the globe flocking to the Gold Coast excited to experience their “home” away from home.

From every day people to celebrities like Steve and Marjorie Harvey, it seems like everyone and their momma – literally – is in Ghana this year. One woman who always knew Ghana was lit and never needs an invitation to visit, is business badass Bozoma Saint John. As the #BlackGirlMagic behind the country’s Full Circle Festival in December and a “daughter of the soil,” you can always count on her to show you the real beauty of Ghana.

Currently, Bozoma is in town for the annual Chale Wote Street Art Festival, and the photos of her adventures have us ready to go to the Motherland tonight. From trips to the market, to partying with Kofi Siriboe, to meeting royalty alongside Colin Kaepernick to just being flat out fabulous, we are living our best lives through her.

Source: essence.com

US preacher Roxanne Caleb blinked away the tears as she emerged from a pitch-dark dungeon where African slaves were once held before being shipped across the Atlantic to America.

“I wasn’t prepared for this. I’m heartbroken,” she said as she toured the Cape Coast slave fort on Ghana’s ocean shore.

“My mind still can’t wrap around the fact that a human being can treat another worse than a rat.”

Caleb is among the African-American visitors flocking to Ghana as it marks the “Year of Return” to remember the 400th anniversary of the first slave ship landing in Virginia.

The West African nation is banking on the commemorations to give a major boost to the number of tourist arrivals as it encourages the descendants of slaves to “come home”.

Cape Coast Castle, 150km from the capital Accra, is a major magnet for those visiting

The white-washed fort lined with cannons was one of dozens of prisons studding the Atlantic coast where slaves were held before their journey to the New World.

A string of prominent African-Americans have headed to the site this year to mark the anniversary since the first slave landing in 1619.

Among them was a delegation of Congressional Black Caucus led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that toured last month.

‘Can’t forget history’

For those visiting it is an emotional rite of passage.

“This has been understanding my history and my roots where I came from,” Caleb said.

“I am very thankful I came here as part of the Year of Return.”

Sampson Nii Addy, a corrections officer with the Montgomery police department in Alabama, said he and his family had found the tour an “education”.

“I think every black person needs to come around to learn history; how people were treated,” the 52-year-old said.

“We can’t forget history but we can always learn something from it.”

Ghana, one of the continent’s most stable democracies, has long pitched itself as a destination for African-Americans to explore their heritage and even settle permanently.

In 2009, former US president Barack Obama visited with his family and paid homage at the Cape Coast Castle.

The “Year of Return” has added fresh impetus and the country is hoping it will increase visitor numbers from 350,000 last year to 500,000 this year, including 45,000 African-Americans.

Kojo Keelson has spent nine years guiding tour groups around the Cape Coast Castle and says this year has seen a surge in interest as Ghana looks to rake in tourism revenue of $925 million.

“It’s like a pilgrimage. This year we’ve a lot more African-Americans coming through than the previous year,” he said

“I’m urging all of them to come home and experience and reconnect to the motherland.”

‘Love to come again’

Akwasi Awua Ababio, the official coordinating “Year of Return” events, pointed to high hotel occupancy rates as he said “enthusiasm is very high and we’ve got huge numbers coming from the US and Caribbean”.

He insisted that beyond the major economic boost, Ghana was also looking to use the new connections it is forging to convince the descendants of slaves to resettle for good and help the country develop.

“Human resource is always an asset and we need to see how we can welcome them home to utilise their expertise and networks,” the director for diaspora affairs at the presidency said.

The African American Association of Ghana brings together those who have moved to West Africa and offers help to integrate them into their new surroundings.

President Gail Nikoi praised the “Year of Return” initiative by Ghanaian leader Nana Akufo-Addo and said the country was “setting the stage for future engagements and involvement of African-Americans and other Africans from the diaspora in the development of this country.”

But she said the authorities could still be doing more to help attract arrivals and convince them to stay.

“Dialogue and engagement is the first step,” she said.

While most of those visiting Cape Coast were not thinking about settling back permanently – they said the trip had opened their eyes to both their own history and what Ghana has to offer.

“It has broadened my horizons about how we came to be here and what our ancestors went through,” said William Shaw, 57, from Montgomery.

“I would love to come again. There is a lot more to see here in Ghana . . . at least once in a year I’d advise African-Americans to come back to their native land and learn about their history.”

Source: phnompenhpost.com

All year long, people of African descent have been making the voyage to Ghana to unite on the continent with their brothers and sisters of the diaspora for the “Year of Return.” So it comes as no surprise that with its mission, the NAACP would be next in line — and Airbnb would be right there to follow suit.

Two years ago, Airbnb partnered with the NAACP to create a program aimed at diversifying the company’s pool of hosts and its customer base, following a number of complains about discrimination on the platform. That’s when they brought in activist and diversity champion, Janaye Ingram (formerly of Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, and now Director of Partnerships for Airbnb) to focus on developing a recruiting program, which touts Airbnb as an economic opportunity for communities of color. Seeing success in this initiative the program has since rolled out in 8 cities, including Miami, Seattle, Oakland and more.

To expand this growing partnership, Airbnb embarked on a Jamestown to Jamestown pilgrimage along with the NAACP,  who has also hosted a series of events in the US as a part of the “Year of Return” commemoration, to supports the company’s commitment to cultural exchange and creating a world where anyone can belong anywhere. This included celebrating 5 diverse hosts from around the country who have continued to support Airbnb with this important theme.

Ingram, spoke more on the partnership with ESSENCE, “We want people of color to be able to tap into that [entrepreneurship and economic empowerment]. There’s a lot of intentionality that has gone into creating the partnership with the NAACP, but also some of the other partnerships and relationships that we have, not just with communities of color, but all types of communities. This partnership was born out of that.

The hosts, who were handpicked, have special ties to Airbnb, with Ingram sharing that they have been “integral” in helping the platform launch these diversity initiatives in various cities.

“It is really about us connecting locally with communities,” Ingram explained.

The trip, which started in Washington, DC, then saw a bus ride to Jamestown,  Virginia for a prayer vigil and candle lighting ceremony to mark the 400 year anniversary of the first enslaved Africans arrival and honoring the memory of all those stolen from Africa over 400 year ago. They then embarked to Ghana, where activities included a visit to the Cape Coast Castle slave dungeons, the Assin Manso Last Bath Slave River and the Business, Development & Investment Summit.

“It was emotionally charged from the highs and the lows,” says Ingram. “When you think about the 400 years since the beginnings of slavery in this country it brings a myriad of emotions. We started the trip here in the U.S. and the first part of the trip was going to Jamestown, Virginia. That started the swell of emotions. You were able to be in this space and this place where our ancestors were brought — the first slaves were brought to Jamestown. There was a part of the ceremony that they had in Jamestown that we collected water from the banks of the river and we would carry that water with us, and we were able to write notes with our ancestors.”

Jamila Ross, one of the hosts who was also able to attend the Ghana experience also described her first visit to the continent with Airbnb as a “pleasant surprise.”

She explained, “It wasn’t until our first day, that we realized that we came on this trip with a purpose — with a goal of understanding our ancestry and to embark on a journey much much greater than ourselves. With that it came along the potential for business of where we could fit in with this economic increase in the country.”

Ross, along with her partner Akino West first started their hospitality group by purchasing a four bedroom, two bathroom house and renting the space as a vacation rental property in Miami and renting one room on Airbnb. The purchase of their first Miami home transcended into the creation of The Copper Door Bed and Breakfast.

The couple have Airbnb to thank for getting their feet wet for Copper Door, because they first ran a successful Airbnb property out of their home in Buena Vista, with over 24 properties now listed on the platform. This has prepared them to onsite at Copper Door, managing the day-to-day aspects of a B&B from emergency maintenance fixes to daily breakfast menus.

Ross and West are just numerous case studies on Airbnb’s commitment to diversifying hosts and experiences, while also creating economic opportunities for communities of color. Still, with this commitment, Ingram also shared that Airbnb has another local partnership coming up next month.

Source: essence.com