On the coast of my home country of Ghana, there are two hauntingly beautiful castles that were once used to imprison slaves bound for the New World. My parents refused to let me visit the castle-turned-museum from my childhood, fearing it would be too much for a 12-year-old. But three and a half years ago, the two sides finally came to an agreement. At the Elmina Castle gift shop, I bought a book called “Back Home” written by a Ghanaian author named Yar Gyasi.
It took me two years to finally start reading it, but once I started reading Homegoing, I couldn’t stop reading it. This work told a great story about the effects of slavery on children of the African diaspora and those who remained on the continent. This book inspired me to ask questions about my origins that I had not been able to explore, and my parents shared their experiences, myths, and history, and answered many questions that occurred to me while reading it. Ta.
There was one unanswered question. Why did our country abandon its indigenous religion in favor of Christianity? After class, I was discussing with my mother a new chapter I had completed that explored this very change. She thought it was interesting and said that without colonization we might not have adopted Christianity.
I feel like my parents have been devout Christians all their lives. As pastors of the church they have led for almost 20 years, their relationship with God plays an invaluable role in their lives. This is a common experience for many Africans, especially Westerners. According to the US State Department, 71% of Ghana’s population is Christian. Many of these Ghanaians are not “Christmas and Easter only” types who just go to church. On the contrary, Christianity is so tightly intertwined with the threads of their lifestyle, tighter than a five-knotted shoelace.
I am deeply rooted in Christianity, which has been passed down through generations in my family, and for a long time I believed there was an Ethiopian on the other side of Christianity, as there was a widespread misconception that it was a “white man’s religion.” I didn’t know that. The continent practiced Christianity for hundreds of years, long before colonists arrived on our shores.
So why have we been conditioned to believe that without colonization most Africans would never have become Christians? was one of the most devoted and devoted Christians in the country, but seems to associate religion with white people. This misconception is so widespread that people often forget that Jesus himself wasn’t even white.
Christianity and parts of it are just one of the concepts that Africans often think about that would not exist without colonization. This conversation got me thinking about how different this continent would be if it had been left untouched. Unfortunately, it seems we’ll never know, as the facts are obvious. That is, too much of our history has been stolen through the unwanted colonization of African countries and will never be regained.
Despite the emptiness in my family’s story, I have always been unusually proud of my heritage. A giant Ghanaian flag hangs above my dormitory bed, and the black star in the center contrasts beautifully with the red, gold, and green that are also represented on various other African flags. I was a kid who spent my summer vacation in Ghana printing out bad photos I took with my iPhone and showing them to my classmates. You can imagine how disappointed I was to find out what a predetermined opinion they had about what I thought was a perfect, vibrant home.
For years, I lived in a hut and had to fight misconceptions about Africans left and right who were plagued by disease. Few people have given me the opportunity to share the true beauty of Ghana and the pride I have for it. Because he believed that all Ghana had to offer was rare animals and precious natural resources.
I don’t think people have ever taken the time to think about why this is the only thing that seems to be of value to us. A continent so rich in minerals and vegetation would become a world power in trade and economic development. Why do people view countries that have the means to become rich as so poor?
Africans are some of the most dedicated and hardworking people I have ever met. That’s not only because we often seem to be cornered, but also because our culture instills in us a strong work ethic from birth. There are no impossible ambitions or goals, and no setbacks are insurmountable.
Yet, media such as deeply depressing UNICEF ads and disrespectfully animated Disney movies portray my people’s narrative as underprivileged and in need of white people’s help. . Instead of being recognized as the real strong, we find ourselves fighting to be seen as equals to our foreign counterparts.
So, once again, you wonder how different things could have been. Despite the horrors of the slave trade and imperialism, many Africans continued to persevere. Countries developed modern infrastructure, established democracies, developed strong education systems, and dominated the markets for our most popular products. We took the bad hand we were dealt and did something with it.
I am very proud to be from the African continent, which was once home to the richest people on earth. As a Ghanaian, I will never forget the role I played in liberating my people as the first sub-Saharan country to fight for independence. I can only imagine how many people would have shared my reverence for our heritage if colonization hadn’t turned our country into a place that needed a “white knight.” .
But in a way, our misfortune has made me even more proud to be African. Despite everything: years of injustice, theft of our resources, and scorn from the world, we persisted. That in itself is a feat.