February 13, 2007

Wayne State University Celebrates Ghana's Golden Anniversary of Independence: Free panel held Feb. 22 marking this event

In honor of Black History Month, Wayne State University’s Department of Africana Studies is celebrating one of the most important events in the history of Africa. On March 5, 1957, Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African nation to achieve independence from colonial rule.

On the eve of this momentous anniversary, the Africana Studies Department is hosting a Black History Month panel titled “Ghana’s 50 Years of Independence,” on Feb. 22, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Bernath Auditorium in the David Adamany Undergraduate Library. This event is free and open to the general public.

Brown University professor Anani Dzidzienyo, a Ghanaian, and University of Michigan professor Kevin Gaines will lecture about memories of independence and African-American expatriates in Ghana, respectively.

Ghana’s independence was a catalyst that led to the emancipation of the rest of the African continent. Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, considered his country to be a guiding light for African independence movements and his support of political struggles for freedom was a fundamental key to success for many nations.

The Ghanaian government is marking the anniversary with a year-long Golden Jubilee celebration as a “unique opportunity for national reflection and renewal of the intent and spirit behind the struggle for independence half a century ago.” 

Ghanaian Kofi Annan, who left his post as United Nations Secretary-General in December, recently traveled home to deliver the Golden Jubilee inaugural lecture. In his speech, he reminisced about his early days as the U.N.’s highest-ranking official.

“I believed that a new era was in prospect—Africa’s third wave to succeed earlier swells of decolonization and the ensuing years of wars and conflicts. I called on Africa to make this third wave one of enduring development, peace and respect for human rights.

Over the ensuing decade, I have been privileged to see this third wave unfold. Not always as forcefully as we might have wished. But inexorably and unstoppably, it has continued to flow across this rich, vast and varied continent.

As a Ghanaian, I am proud that 50 years after my country led a wave of African independence, Ghana is at the forefront of Africa’s third wave as well. What we need now is to keep building on the progress we have achieved so far.”

On Feb. 27, the Africana Studies Department will host another Black History Month event featuring Detroit Poet Laureate Dr. Naomi Long Madgett and journalist Eddie Allen titled “Memories, Memoirs and Remembering: African-American Life and Literature.

For more information, call (313) 577-2321.

Contact

Ollie Johnson
Phone: 313-577-2321
Email: ojohnson@wayne.edu

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