I am in a group of about forty other UC students and we spent much of the past two weeks traveling in a sporadically air conditioned "University of Ghana Athletic Coach" throughout the country. This was a BIG ASS bus, maneuvering through one way, completely unpaved, livestock-lined roads. My goodness my mom would have s**t in her pants if she had seen this! And as expected we arrived late everywhere we went, stopping at practically every Ghanaian gas station for what I have affectionately dubbed, angry BM’s. Now I know this may be a bit of a touchy or even inappropriate subject for some (cough, grandma harriett) but having a good BM means EVERYTHING here. The day you stop needing immodium and cipro is an occasion for joyous celebration and noshing, much like a bar mitzvah- It really is the little things in life.

Now just try to picture forty “white” kids gas station hopping our way through Ghana, running frantically off of the bus in search of a wash closet. I imagine this was extremely entertaining to the local women, walking around with all sorts of items piled high on their heads and babies wrapped around their backs. I find myself staring at these women sometimes, and forget that I am actually the one they are staring at, I am the one who is a bit “weird” and different, hmm… More on this later.

So anyway, this process of causing a ruckus one Ghanaian village at a time lasted for about two weeks, and I loved every minute of it. There is something thrilling about the spontaneity and uncertainty of a road trip, especially with forty other people.

The last stop on our adventure was Elmina, the first European settlement in West Africa. The Portuguese built a castle there in 1482 as headquarters for trade and exploitation of gold, but it was later used for the transatlantic slave trade- through Dutch and British control, Elmina remained an epicenter for African slavery. Today, Elmina is a fishing town of around 20,000 people, and considering the sparkling beaches and majestic palm trees along which the town resides, it is hard to imagine that this was once home to one of the largest slave trading posts. It is baffling that such horrific and ugly things happened in this beautiful place.

When our group arrived at the castle, we were greeted by a single tour guide who was to give us a brief history on Elmina and then show us the grounds. And this is where the story gets interesting. After some brief confusion, a second tour guide arrived and part of the group split off to take a tour with this new man. Coincidence or not, this second group happened to consist of all the African American students from our party- it was suggested that the African American students had requested their own tour group. Regardless, the division created an awkward environment for both the students and the tour guides, and left me with a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. The group spent a great deal of time reflecting and discussing this situation, yet everyone seemed to walk away with their feathers further ruffled. We even asked our tour guide why this division had occurred, and he suggested that it would help prevent the African American students from getting upset with or “blaming” the white students for their “contribution to slavery.” Oy.

Now this may seem like a trivial matter, but I left the castle feeling frustrated and disappointed after a long week of unity and cohesive strength. This was not the environment of mutual trust and respect that Osu had fostered within our group.

I would never take a group of people to a Holocaust museum and suggest that the Jews and non-Jews take separate tours. Learning about slavery or genocide is not meant to stir up feelings of resentment and bitterness, but to promote an environment of tolerance and understanding. To educate people on what has happened, and to make sure that it never happens again. The Jews, the Blacks- we have all felt like the oppressed other at some point- this is something that we all can unfortunately relate to. And what better way to build tolerance and unity than to go through this learning process together.

As a white person now living in a predominately Black country, and with such seemingly tolerant and loving relations, it is easy to escape to la la land- to forget that the civil rights movement was and is not the end of prejudice and discrimination, of deeply engrained emotions and memories. One must not forget that there is still much work to be done. And what better time, what better place, than Ghana. So in the spirit of MLKJ Day, "Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love."

with much love on this beautiful day,

m