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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:'Slave Castles' and the Transatlantic Slave Trade: Ghanaian and African American Perspectives
Author:Osei-Tutu, BrempongISNI
Year:2004
Periodical:Ghana Studies
Volume:7
Pages:59-78
Language:English
Geographic term:Ghana
Subjects:slave trade
conservation of cultural heritage
commemorations
African Americans
History and Exploration
Abstract:Although there are many African countries which African Americans might visit in their search for their ancestral roots, Ghana takes pride of place for a number of reasons: it was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence; it has historical links with prominent African Americans such as Maya Angelou, W.E.B. Du Bois and his wife, Shirley; it has prominent architectural reminders of the slave trade; and, above all, it is Anglophone. Nevertheless, the issue of the memory and the commemoration of the trans-Atlantic slave trade continues to arouse controversy between Ghanaians and African Americans. There are claims that the Ghanaians do not understand the slave trade. Or, that they do understand the slave trade but are more interested in commodifying associated significant sites of memory. They do understand the slave trade but do not wish to discuss it. It is certainly clear that there are still enormous gaps in knowledge across the entire Black Atlantic. This 'legacy of reciprocal ignorance' requires mutual education of both Ghanaians and African Americans. Bibliogr., notes. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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