2019 is going to be a remarkable year in the history of Africans, it marks 400 years since the first group of African slaves touched down on North American soil. It is indeed a year to celebrate the past while looking forward to a bright future. To celebrate this, Ghana has gone ahead to declare 2019 the “Year of Return.” The essence is to invite all of the African family in diaspora back home to their fatherland.
The Ghanaian President had earlier in the year made the proclamation at a ceremony held in Washington DC. He said the “Year of Return, Ghana” was meant to be more like a homecoming for people of color all over the world. He named several historic black leaders who had in times past visited Ghana like Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr., Stevie Wonder, and Maya Angelou. He described their visits as honorable to Ghana and inspirational to the leaders and it was time for other Africans to come home and experience the same feeling.
There will be several events organized during the year to commemorate this theme and it will be overseen by the Ghana Tourism Authority in conjunction with the Office of Diaspora affairs which is directly under the Office of the Ghanaian President. Some of the events lined up include a concert organized in January by Damien Marley titled “Bra Fie,” a homecoming summit in June, and Panafest in July. In November and December are the Ghana Carnival and the famous Afrochella in November and December respectively.
To find out more about Ghana’s “Year of Return” click here.