April, 2008: My son, Juno, and my pianist, Roddy Barnes, and I get ready to leave Dulles Airport for Accra, Ghana. It will be a two week tour!
After a night's rest, we start sightseeing by visiting Dr. W. E. B. DuBois' home and grave. Dr. DuBois was a founder of the NAACP, a prolific writer and scholar. He spent his last years in Ghana -- away from the racism of the U.S.
Our next stop is at Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's Mausoleum and Park. Dr. Nkrumah lead the fight for independence from Britain and became the first president of Ghana in 1957. This statue of the drummer with talking drums celebrates how the news of Ghana's independence was relayed.
This statue of Dr. Nkrumah has the right hand pointing forward -- indicating the way to freedom! The masoleum for Dr. & Mrs. Nkrumah is in the background.
Juno and I emulate Dr. Nkrumah and point forward to freedom.
Here we are with the guide. He explains how Dr. Nkrumah was buried three times. This is his final resting place.
I was invited into the reception area to sign the guest book since I was a special guest on tour for the US Embassy. I felt truly honored.
We had lunch in downtown Accra. Here's a shot out of the window. There are many taxis -- with yellow bumpers.
Ghana's biggest crafts market is found at the National Cultural Center -- a somewhat misleading name. Of course we found the musicians -- the drum and shakere makers!
In one of the stalls, I check out the bells, rattles and shakeres.
Drums, drummakers and drummers are everywhere. Juno and Roddy are in a stall next door drumming with 5 or 6 young Ghanaian men.
The next day, we traveled across the border to another country, Togo. In the home of the Cultural Affairs Officer, I conducted a blues vocals workshop with about 20 Togolese female singers. Their voices were absolutely amazing and I think I got the blues feeling across -- even though Togo is French speaking.
After the workshop, we enjoyed lunch, posed for photos (this is about half of the group) and concluded with all of us (including Juno & Roddy & our hosts) singing "Oh Happy Day!!" This was one of the greatest expeniences! It was a happy day!
Going back to the hotel in Lome, Togo, a group dances in the street. That weekend was the Caribbean festival celebration. I'm not sure about what or why. I just know it was joyous with drums and masks. Dancing in the street!
All of our accomodations were wonderful. The US Embassy took good care of us. Here's Juno at poolside of the hotel in Lome, Togo. I included this shot cuz he's so handsome. . . yep, I'm prejudiced.
Here's our entourage. Left to right -- one of the Togo staffers, Juno, unknown, LaTonya (the ambassador's office manager), Roddy, Dehab (the cultural affairs officer in Ghana who coordinated the whole tour), Sophia ( the program specialist - who speaks 8 languages), one of our drivers, Mary (the cultural affairs officer in Togo), Ella (Mary's daughter - she and Juno took to each other), Patrick (sound technician extraordinaire), and our other driver.
East of Lake Volta, we stayed in Ho. The next morning, we got up very early to travel to the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary. We're on the trail leading to the monkeys. We have to get there when they're hungry.
After calling the monkeys with a loud kissing sound, they start swinging through the trees coming to us. You could see 8 or 10 at a time, but shadows prevent me from capturing the site. This one is posing for me. All of them seem to have on sunglasses. Soooo cute!
Here you can clearly see three of them.
Roddy's feeding one!
A mama monkey pops up. . .
Can you tell that I was absolutely fascinated!! I was ready to take one home.
Most monkeys took a little piece of the banana at a time. This fellow snatched the whole banana out of Juno's hand, ran back up the tree, peeled it and ate it in the blink of an eye.
After feeding the monkeys, it's breakfast time. We had rolls, granola bars and, yes, coffee. Roddy's a happy boy. The background shows a typical Ghanaian country village.
Across the street from where we'd parked, children were arriving for school. Orange and brown uniforms were seen all over the countryside. One of the first things President Nkrumah did after Ghana's liberation was to make sure that everyone had access to free education.
North of Ho is Hohoe. We travel there to go to the Wli or Agumatsa Falls -- the largest waterfall in west Africa. You have to cross 7 bridges to get to it Dehab navigates one of them.
Those two specks in the distance are Dehab and Roddy. Of course they got drenched, but they loved it!
Juno enjoys a piece of Paradise.
Juno, me, Dehab, Sophia, LaVonya, wet Roddy, and Patrick.
Back at the entrance to the falls was a small crafts area. The young man in the middle was a craver/wood sculptor. In the background you can see some of his work. Both Juno and I bought small masks from him. On the left is his brother, a musician. He and Juno talked music. Juno was excited to receive an email from him a week or so after our return.
Roddy and his coffee. Early morning. Getting ready for our departure from Ho.
We travel to Kumasi which is in the Ashanti region. It is the second largest city in Ghana. The Ashantis resisted British rule until 1902. They were able to preserved much of their culture. The King is still revered and the Manhyia Palace is still in use. Peacocks roam the Palace grounds where we enter.
A beautiful tree at the entrance of the Palace.
A close up of that same tree and the root system.
Inside, the history lesson starts with the drum -- talking drums. Our guide is a noted scholar of Ashanti history and has written several books.
A close up shows elaborate and meaningful decoration.
Here are the carriers for the King and the Queen Mother. The chair and the cheetah carrier.
As special guests, we are allowed a photo with these precious artifacts.
Again, as a very special guest, I was asked to sign the guestbook. I was told to sign on the same page with the Ambassador of Ghana, Her Excellency Pamela Bridgewater. I am so proud to say that she is my friend from childhood. In the background is a wooden carving of one of the former Kings.
After the Palace, we visited a Kente village where we watched dozens of weavers at work. Upon our return to the hotel, we pose by a sign about our concert. This particular concert was being held at poolside of a brand new hotel. We did 8 events at various venues -- from a community center, to a school, to the Togo embassy, etc. . . varied venues.
The side entrance of the Golden Tulip Hotel in Kumasi. Note the Adinkra symbols on the side. The top one represents God's supremacy. The middle one symbolized the horns of a ram -- bravery. The bottom one is a symbol of initiative and versatility. Adinkra symbols all found all over Ghana -- on shops, on taxis, on clothing -- everywhere.
In Sunyani, we first met with the ministers and elders of the region. After, I was interviewed by these two young people from the radio station. I had to take their photo because the young woman reminded me so much of blues musician, Deborah Coleman.
We travel to the village of Bono Manso. We met with the King and Queen Mother and other tribal leaders. A griot gave us the tribal history from the 1200s -- Sophia translated for us. He also apologized for their role in the slave trade. My son cried. The Queen Mother dried his tears. We journeyed a short distance to the forest where we saw the baobab tree where slaves were chained in transit from the north to the coast.
The griot is in the brown. An elder prepares the libation for the ancestors. The Queen Mother, her back to the camera, is ready to offer prayer. The next Queen Mother is to her right.
The Queen Mother prays and sprinkles the ancestral libation.
Juno with the Queen Mother. Perhaps the most moving moment of the trip, for me, was when I was asked to place the wreath, in the background, at the base of the tree and offer a prayer.
As we move toward the various memorials, I take a photo of Juno with Dehab.
I was shocked to see that the first memorial statue was the bust of Malcolm X (El Hajji Malik El Shabazz). I spoke briefly about Malcolm's impact on my life. It was so precious to me that this village knew of Malcolm.
An even greater shock!! The bust of Marcus Garvey. Many Americans don't even know about Garvey -- even black Americans -- and here he is in this remote African village. Garvey started the UNIA and the back to Africa movement in the States. His organization had over a million members, but he has been greatly written out of history.
To one side of Dr. King's memorial was this one for Mrs. Rosa Parks.
The most exquisite memorial was that of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Together Roddy and I placed this wreath below the words from his "I Have a Dream" speech: ". . . that the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit together. . ." Another truly moving moment.
Dehab places the wreath on the memorial of Mrs. Coretta Scott King.
Sophia is in the forefront of watchers at the memorial grounds.
Patrick, our sound tech, shoots video footage.
The group in Bono Manso.
The woman here is Felicia. She did all the research and learned about Bono Manso being a main stop over for the slave trade. She learned of the baobob tree. She independently raised funds and created the memorials to form a link between this village and African-Americans. Also, with this creation, it is hoped that African-Americans will visit this village. It offers the hope of a source of income for this desolate area.
Juno with Sophia.
We are now back on the coast and staying at the Coconut Grove Beach Resort. Two young ladies walk pass carrying large tin tubs on their heads. We have seen this site all over Ghana, but in respect, did not take photos without asking permission. Roddy secures permission and we take photos. Their balance is unbelievable.
Juno with LaVonya.
The first slave castle we visit is Elmina. Originally a Portugese castle, it became the Dutch slave headquarters in 1637. This dungeon held about 400 slave women. Imagine with the door shut. Imagine no toilets, no baths, no sanitation. This was directly under their church.
The outdoor entrance to the previous photo.
The exit to the ocean.
Click on the magnifier button (above right) and you can see the ocean.
This chute leads from the women's dungeon above, through the men's dungeon, to the iron gate, to the ocean.
Our guide was so very knowledgeable. The sign is a proclamation of sorts saying that nothing like this will ever happen again. Juno doesn't look so sure.
At the top of the castle, here you see the vast blue ocean.
The moat, now without water, surrounds the castle.
And, of course, guns for protection. . .
Elmina overlooks the fishing village.
What's that flag looking like the US Confederacy's stars and bars?? I couldn't get a definite answer, but someone thought it was related to a British sports team.
Another big gun. . .
A solemn and moving moment with our tour guide.
After the tour, people thought we would break down in tears. I'd already done that when I visited Benin in 2002. Juno had already shed tears in Bono Manso. After seeing this slave pen, our emotion was one of anger instead of sadness. If you click the magnifier, you can read the vow (the one Juno was looking at a few shots earlier). I take this vow and pray the world will do so.
We visit a second slave castle, the Cape Coast Castle, built before 1790 by the British. There are three dungeons, all grimly efficient. Juno stands in the "Door of No Return."
And the door exits to the ocean. . .
Lots of big guns.
Juno enters the worst holding cell with trepidation. This is where the "bad" slaves were put.
Back to the hotel on the beach. It was such a contrast to the day's experience. We dined in an outdoor setting -- facing the ocean.
The day before our departure (my men look a bit tired), en route back to Accra, we visit the Kakum National Park. It is a true rainforest. The main attraction is the canopy walk--350 meters long with a wood and rope walkway suspended between 7 trees some 40 meters high in the air -- over the forest. Gaye stayed in the cafe. . . scared.
Patrick bravely moves ahead.
Juno's enjoying! Notice the walkway is less than a foot wide and it bounces as you walk.
Roddy's moving it too!
A little rest on a viewing platform before the next walkway.
Juno's confident now as he busts one of his skateboarding moves!
Our final night in Accra. Roddy and I have performed in a local club owned by American Toni Scott. A jam session follows. Don't laugh at the accordian -- we did some New Orleans flavored stuff. The drummer and harmonica player were from Ghana. The guitarist from Cameroon.
I'm right at home in this club setting. None of the other performances had been in clubs. There was a table of maybe 10 black people all from the US who now live in Ghana. This was a lot of fun.
A different drummer joins in. He is a well known recording artist and was incredible!
Dehab, the woman responsible for all the logistics, my sister.
Toni, the club owner, is also a wonderful singer.
Drum solo extraordinaire!
In the midst of Toni's performance, this young man seems to pop up from nowhere and gives us a spectacular show! First with bottles. . .
. . . then bottles on his head and 3 trays spinning!
Luggage is loaded for our departure from Kotoka International Airport.
Dehab shoots a goodbye photo that somewhat echoes the first photo in this series. (The gentleman in red is our expediter. He deal with luggage check, boarding passes, customs, etc. We decided we need one for every day life.) We are all so grateful to have had this experience. I was so proud of Roddy. I was so proud of my son. I was so proud of our reception by the people of Ghana and Togo. I've been blessed.
