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Sankofa: A relic of transatlantic slave trade and a conciliator of Pan-Africanism
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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 Sierre 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 content 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 Interpretative theory, this study will apply diaspora studies as the principal technique to investigate Sankofa and Pan-African ideas as means of cultural reconciliation. Sankofa will be interpreted 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 healing, reconciliation, and reintegration into African community. This paper will reveal the significance of ‘Sankofa’ through Gerima’s adaptation of Sankofa, the symbolism of Sankofa at slave sites (Elmina, Cape Coast, Forts William and Amsterdam and Assin Manso) to express diaspora reactions of their ancestry, and the contemporary function of the Year of Return to both the diaspora and Ghanaians.
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These are the slides from a presentation given at the Thesis Defense held in Bailey Hall, RM 109 on 04/09/2025
Date
2025-04-09
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University of Kansas
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Keywords
Sankofa, Cultural Identity, Diaspora, Pan-Africanism