Sankofa: A relic of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and a conciliator of Pan-Africanism

• In Event: Examining the Sankofa Principle in Action

Abstract

The borders of West Africa reveal the relics of interactions held among European countries and Africa through the notorious trade “transatlantic slave trade”. This trade took place along the shores of Sierra Leone, Gambia, Senegal Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, and Benin, where indigenes were taken captive, kidnapped, pawned, and subjected as defaulter debtors, who were finally sold as slaves. The study employs a qualitative research approach, employing descriptive analysis as a means of data collection. Hence, I will use Assin Manso, Elmina, Cape Coast, and Fort William as slave trade centers to emphasize the tragic and horrific sentiments the enslaved underwent and their relevance to contemporary Africans and the diaspora. Using Indigenous theory as the principal technique, my research will employ the term “Sankofa” as a philosophical term to symbolize the connection between African Americans and present-day Ghanaians, drawing on elements of ‘Africaness’. The study will further utilize Haile Gerima’s ‘Sankofa’ to interpret the relationship between the past, present, and future of African Americans and Africans, specifically looking at contemporary Ghanaians as the study unit, demonstrating their fragmented history and Pan-nationalist goals, fostering reconnection and reintegration. This paper will reveal the importance of 'Sankofa' and how it foregrounds expatriate African Americans’ return.

Author

• Bernice Franklina Abolga, University of Kansas