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Pan‐Africanism as a resource: the W. E. B. DuBois Memorial Centre for Pan‐African Culture in Ghana1

2004; Routledge; Volume: 2; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/1472584042000310874

1472-5851

Katharina Schramm,

African history and culture studies

Abstract This article deals with the recent homecoming of African Americans to Ghana and the resulting heritage politics, as it unfolds between the Ghanaian state on the one hand and Diasporan visitors and repatriates on the other. Through the concrete encounter with the 'motherland', homecoming ceases to be an imaginary construction, but is rather turned into a contested practice. Whereas the notion of a united 'African family' is rhetorically shared by the different protagonists of homecoming, it is nevertheless filled with various meanings that often contradict each other. Through the example of the W. E. B. DuBois Memorial Centre for Pan‐African Culture, a place where the complex network of relations underlying homecoming materializes, the author analyzes this practice in the theoretical framework of a strategic use of essentialisms. Keywords: GhanadiasporaPan‐Africanismhomecomingstrategic use of essentialisms Notes The article is based on fieldwork which I conducted between November 1998 and October 1999 in Ghana, mainly in the towns of Accra and Cape Coast. It forms part of a wider research project on 'The politics of heritage in Ghana'. I would like to thank all the people who have supported and encouraged me. I cannot mention all of them, but I would like to give special thanks to William Hrisir‐Quaye, Remel Moore, Selete Nyome and Kwadwo Opoku‐Agyemang. I want to thank Kinamo Moyowazi Fza, Nash Sam, Frederika Rhule and Ato Kwame for sharing their thoughts as well as an occasional beer. Louisa Aggrey was a wonderful hostess in Cape Coast. Thanks to Fortune Attipoe for her friendship and her ommo tuo. At home, I have to thank Ayşe Çağlar and Ute Luig for their constant support and intellectual stimulation. Nadine Sieveking, Kristine Krause, Svenja Becherer and Hansjörg Dilger need to be acknowledged for their patience and constructive criticisms. This terminology had already been introduced by Gayatri Spivak (Citation1988, p. 205), who in her discussion on subaltern studies speaks of 'a strategic use of positivist essentialism in a scrupulously visible political interest'. Here, I can only sketch some broad developments. For detailed accounts on the foundation and development of Pan‐Africanism, see CitationLangley (Citation1973), Lemelle (1992). Geiss (Citation1968) gives quite a useful overview, though it is diminished by his derogative and paternalistic style. Citation CitationMudimbe (Citation1988), Appiah (1992) and Gilroy (1993) favour a critical approach to the predominance of the concept of 'race' within the Pan‐Africanist ideology, looking for other ways of conceptualizing the diaspora instead. In fact, it was Henri Sylvester Williams from Trinidad who had organized the first Pan‐African Conference as early as 1900. The time, however, was not yet mature enough for a Pan‐African movement, so that the 1900 conference remained a singular enterprise. See Adi and Sherwood (Citation1995). On the development of cultural policy in Ghana, see Schramm (Citation2000). See Nkrumah (Citation1963). See Gaines (Citation2000). Angelou (Citation1991) gives a fascinating personal account of her experiences in Ghana in the early 1960s. See Agbeyebiawo (Citation1998). Lake (Citation1995) has worked on repatriates who have migrated to Ghana between the 1960s and 1980s. She speaks of a community of about 120 repatriates in 1989, a lot of whom were married to Ghanaians. By now, however, this number has increased significantly and, above all, diasporans have gained a voice in public discourse, the media, etc., which was not the case in the years Lake is referring to. This, of course, is only a selection of titles. One could assume that the works of Kwame Nkrumah – a lot of them important documents of the Pan‐African movement – were also available at the DuBois Centre. However, this is not the case – neither here nor at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park or the University Bookshop can one find his books. Most of them are out of print. The only exception has been a recent five‐volume edition of his selected speeches (Nkrumah Citation1997). This may be attributed to the general lack of financial resources by Ghanaian publishers, but it also indicates a contrast between rhetorical appropriation and practical political relevance of Nkrumahism (and therefore Pan‐Africanism) in Ghana today. This exhibition goes back to an initiative by an African American woman, Lady Sala S. Shabazz (a.k.a. Valerie J. Robinson), whose 'dedication to the promotion of positive images and self‐esteem are exemplified in her endeavors of research, investigation and documentation of the magnificent contributions of African people throughout the world' (from the foreword to a book accompanying the exhibition, Shabazz Citation1998, p. xiv). The exhibition was planned as a circulating display and has toured widely, both within the US and internationally. During the time of my fieldwork, a new museum structure was put up in the grounds of the DuBois Centre to serve as a permanent location for the museum. However, due to lack of finance, the construction was never completed and its inauguration on 2 August 1999 took place in an empty building. There is no information on the museum's official website as to whether or not it has moved to the new premises by now. See: http://www.blackinventionsmuseum.com (31.01.2002). For an overview of adinkra symbolism, see Glover (Citation1992). This information was shared with me by Boatema Boateng, in an e‐mail dated 28 January 2002. Boateng (Citation2001) writes on the problems that may go hand in hand with this kind of appropriation, namely the disregard of indigenous copyrights as well as the undermining of the economic base of indigenous producers. For an overview of the castles and forts, see van Dantzig (Citation1998), Anquandah (Citation1999). Moore (12.05.1999; TB V/809) described the budgetary situation as dramatic: when she took over, the centre was encumbered with 15 Mio cedi debts – with an annual budget of only 12 Mio cedis. This would leave virtually no room for fiscal manoeuvre. See interview Anyidoho, 17.09.1999, p. 9. Of course, those festivals have not been 'invented' out of nothing. They rather revert to the structure of traditional community festivals that play an important role for the various ethnic groups in Ghana. For an overview, see Opoku (Citation1970). For a description of the 1997 opening ceremony of PANAFEST, see Zips and Kämpfer (Citation2001, pp. 20–7). A rather cynical account of PANAFEST is given in Phillips (Citation2000). See Visionlink Productions (Citation1998). In another essay I deal with the first Emancipation Day Celebrations, including the important issues of responsibilities and atonement that go along with it (Schramm Citation2004). For example at 'Miss Emancipation' (NB IV/597‐612) or 'Yaa Asantewaa's Night – Cultural Celebration of African Womanhood' (NB IV/753‐755) during the 1999 Emancipation Day Celebrations. One of the reasons for this I see in the fact that the centre cannot so easily be integrated into the tourism sector as the other sites and events (see quote from Moore, p. 161f). See CitationDuBois Centre (n.d., p. 2). This network is made up of African Americans permanently residing in Ghana. It seeks, among other things, 'to promote greater social interaction between families of Association members … to serve as a resource for visiting African Americans … to celebrate traditional African American holidays; to support selected Ghanaian institutions and commemorate Pan African Leaders' (AAAG Citation1999, p. 1). Unfortunately, he did not give any details as to who put forward those demands, on what occasion, etc. During the McCarthy era, DuBois's open sympathy for the Soviet Union and his protests against nuclear armament were regarded as treason by the US government. DuBois had to face criminal charges and for some time was prevented from leaving the country. Sundquist writes: 'Although the charges were dismissed, the traumatic event … persuaded the elderly Du Bois that his long struggle for justice in the United States may have come to nothing' (Citation1996, p. 13). In 1961, DuBois joined the Communist Party and in the course of the same year moved to Ghana where he took on Ghanaian citizenship in 1963. A more detailed account of this final period in DuBois's life is given in Moore (Citation1981, pp. 141–147). This is the title of the newsletter of the DuBois Centre. http://summit.asylee.com (12.02.2001). The function which was organized by the Centre for Savannah Arts and Civilisation – an NGO devoted to rectifying stereotypes of, as well as increasing the knowledge on, Northern Ghana among Ghanaians as well as foreigners – took place at the DuBois Centre on 05.12.1998. See Homepage of FIHANKRA International: http://www.fihankrainternational.org/PR_3_17_2000.html (05.10.2001); Homepage of Info‐Ghana, a site created by returning African descendants to provide information for others who consider making the move to Ghana: http://www.info‐ghana.com/aboutus.htm (05.10.2001). An example of this could be seen in the initiative 'Jubilee 2000' which was supported by Bishop Desmond Tutu. For an African continental perspective on the issue of reparations, see Soyinka (Citation1999). For me, this kind of confrontation raised serious methodological problems, questioning my position and legitimacy as a white female (and German) researcher to deal with the issue of the transatlantic slave trade and the process of homecoming/repatriation. Right from the beginning of my research I was (made) aware that it would be impossible to remain a neutral observer in such a setting. Still, I decided to go on with the research, because I am convinced that it is an important subject that needs to involve people from all kinds of backgrounds. So, while I still disagree with some of the positions that I came across, I am grateful for this experience, because it made me aware of some of the hidden transcripts in my own history. See CitationSchramm (forthcoming). For some background information about this religious community and their ideas on Africa and repatriation, see Markowitz (Citation1996). A well‐known example of this would be the promise to every emancipated slave of '40 acres and a mule', which was never fulfilled. Instead, slave owners received reparations. For the commercialization of 'homecoming' (taking Senegal as an example), see Ebron (Citation1999). Appiah (Citation1992, esp. chapter 9) critically denouces this type of racial Pan‐Africanism. Bruner writes on the phenomenon of obroni: 'This formulation may be so jarring to an American sensibility because it speaks of wealthy African Americans who return to Ghana almost as if they were like European immigrants who became successful in the New World and returned for a visit to the old country to display their new‐found prosperity. It blurs the distinction so crucial to the American experience between slavery and migration, between forced involuntary servitude and a voluntary journey to seek a better life' (Citation1996, p. 303, n. 10). An example of such an exchange was the hosting of the 'First Pan African Youth Leadership Summit' by the DuBois Centre. Young people mainly from Ghana, but also from South Africa, Egypt, Togo and the US came together to debate the future of Pan‐Africanism. See DuBois Centre (Citation1999). The establishment of Fihankra and the allocation of land came as a result of an atonement by a group of Ghanaian chiefs for their ancestors' possible participation in slavery, which took place in 1994. 'In the traditions of Africa, both the Stool & Skin are sacred symbols of divine chieftaincy authority, in which resides the very spirit and soul of its people. Thus in keeping with this tradition FIHANKRA restores to diasporans two sacred symbols in one (Chiefs of the north sit on skins and southern Chiefs sit on stools and their symbols equate to the European thrones) reaffirming the cultural and spiritual connections that were denied the diasporans for centuries' (CitationIn(Light)Mint n.d., p. 6). By now, this rite of atonement has been repeated on several occasions, especially during Emancipation Day. See Schramm (Citation2004). A prominent African American chief is the singer Isaac Hayes, who was enstooled in Ada, a small town in eastern Ghana. During my fieldwork, I witnessed the enstoolment of Freddie Henderson, the first African American tour operator to Ghana, as nkosohemaa during the 24th Africa Travel Association's (ATA) International Congress which took place in Ghana from 2 May to 7 May 1999 (see TB V/787–88). Nana Okofo told me that he had been enstooled as asafohene, warrior chief. On 22 May 1999, Remel Moore was enstooled as 'Queen of the DuBois Centre, Mother of Africa' under the stool name Nana Ama Adom Nsa I (see TB V/834–839). She was honoured for her commitment to the 'brothers and sisters relocating in Ghana' (TB V/835). For the controversy, see Afrim (Citation1999). To me, Gilroy's (1993) theory of routes (as opposed to roots) seems a more fitting intellectual tool to grasp the complex dynamics that characterize the development of the Atlantic world. This has been a frequent reproach, which is not always grounded in experience but almost amounts to a stereotype. Nevertheless, quite a few people expressed genuine anger, as, for example, this member of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board: 'They are coming here to teach us – but who are they to tell us something about Africa which we, the Africans, do not know?' (fieldnote, 08.07.1999, TB VI/972). Cf. TB VI/906, TB IV/665, TB III/451. See note 31.