Let’s Go to Africa! Nancy’s African Blog

August 15th, 2023

I am going to Africa, and I want to invite you to come along. I planned this trip to learn about Ghana and the slave trade. I want to learn about the heritage of the Gullah people, about these people who were forcibly removed from their homelands to make money for southern plantation owners in the United State of America. It’s an important part of our history.

I’m also going to fulfill my commitment to All Things That Matter Press to write another sequel to my novel they published last year, Revelation in the Roots: Emerald Isle. I’ve almost finished the first sequel, Revelation on the Sea Island, which explores the Gullah people through the eyes of the Magnificent and Marvelous Book Club, and their group home fellow travelers. The next book will emerge from this trip.

I’m going for one week. That seems inadequate on so many levels, but it is what is and I want to make the most of it.  I decided today, I will blog about it to share my experiences, so that all of the money I’m spending might have some enduring value.

Some of my Facebook friends tell me they follow my daily escapades and travels. I like to take pictures. I like to celebrate people, experiences and nature. If you are my Facebook friend, you would know what I mean. Somebody recently told me, “You know we live vicariously through you, Nancy.” So, that gave me the idea to take you  along on an adventure to the Old World, to the continent of Africa, to learn and explore. Let’s do together!

Today I’ve been reading a little book, The History of Ghana: From Ashanti to Accra by Adeoye Adekunle. My friend, Holly Wolfe, our local reference librarian purchased this for my husband and me. When she couldn’t find the right book in our library, she ordered one from Amazon, paying for it herself. Talk about going above and beyond! Thank you, Holly!

The book is perfect – with only 115 pages it condenses centuries of West African history into a quick read, with descriptions of some of the places our tour will visit. As I read, I try to fathom how such evil could take place. In the region now Ghana, millions of people were kidnapped, imprisoned in the slave castles on the coast then shipped to the New World like cattle.  

I remember studying African civilization as a religion major in college, and again when studying history to become a social studies teacher. I even taught some of this history while student teaching. But now the history comes alive in a new way. I cry not only about what happened then, but for how it impacts Africans today, and all Americans. This is what I want to understand and explore.

I also want to experience the beauty and goodness of the Ghanaian African culture. I’m looking forward to eating, feasting with my eyes, appreciating the art and dancing! Our Black and Abroad Tour Company just sent playlists of Ghanian music on Spotify. As listen, it sounds strangely familiar as I suspect the Africans shared their music now expressed in the reggae, soul and the blues music on the American scene.

So come along with me. Let’s go to Africa!