Monday, August 1, 2016

AFRICA STILL STRUGGLING AS EMANCIPATION DAY OBSERVED IN CAPE COAST

By: Kwamina Bamfo-Agyei
Rabbi Kohain Halevi (Executive Secretary PANAFEST Foundation)
Emancipation should be used to remind Africans of the struggle they are going through to free themselves of poverty. 
The Executive Secretary of PANAFEST Foundation Rabbi Kohain Halevi made this known at a symposium organised to observed this year's emancipation day celebration with the theme " Emancipation, Our Heritage, Our Strength; Empowering African Youth through Pan African Culture".
He noted that Africans are still struggling to be united in development and appealed to researchers in Africa to discuss issues affecting the continent. He said "as Africans we need to remain connected and relevant our continue struggle and be liberated as an African people".  
Governor Osun State Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola
In attendance was the Executive Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola gave the keynote address and appealed to Africans to be united among themselves in liberating the continent of poverty. He noted that countries in Africa should collaborate with others in research that will lead to development. Some of the presenters at the symposium included Dr. Hamlet Maulana and Imahkus Okofo.
Emancipation Day is the day set out for the celebration of the emancipation’ of slaves in America, Africa and the Caribbean and that day in the lives of the freed slaves. It is also observed in other areas in remembrance of the abolition of serfdom or other forms of servitude. Ghana joined in the celebration of Emancipation Day in 1998.
At  Assin Praso which is also part of the Slave Corridor, and is home to the Nnonko Nsuo, (otherwise known as the Slave River, where the slaves had their bath before being shipped overseas, which was part of the slave route, took the centre stage with  durbar of chiefs and people at the event. The Reverential Night; a vigil to usher in Emancipation Day was carried out at the Cape Coast Castle where a great many of our ancestors were shipped as human cargo to the Americas and elsewhere to work on plantations as slaves.

W.E.B Du Bois
B&FT Online
According to B&FT (2016) reported that William Edward Burghardt “W. E. B.” Du Bois (1868-1963) was a leading African-American sociologist, writer and activist. Educated at Harvard University and other top schools, Du Bois studied with some of the most important social thinkers of his time. He earned fame for the publication of such works as Souls of Black Folk (1903), and was a founding officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and editor of its magazine.
Dubois also taught at Wilberforce University and Atlanta University, and chaired the Peace Information Center. Shortly before his death, Du Bois settled in Ghana to work on the Encyclopedia Africana, a compendium of information on Africans and peoples of African descent throughout the world. Shortly thereafter he joined the American Communist party and became a citizen of Ghana, where he died in 1963.


On Saturday, 30th July, 2016, Assin Praso, which was part of the slave route, will take the centre stage where there will be a durbar of chiefs and people to commemorate the event. On Sunday, 31st July, 2016, there will be a Reverential Night; a vigil to usher in Emancipation Day, at the Cape Coast Castle where a great many of our ancestors were shipped as human cargo to the Americas and elsewhere to work on plantations as slaves.
A Grand Durbar of chiefs and people will be held at Assin-Manso, which is also part of the Slave Corridor, and is home to the Nnonko Nsuo, (otherwise known as the Slave River, where the slaves had their bath before being shipped overseas, on 1st August 2016 to climax the celebration.
Emancipation Day is celebrated in many former British colonies in the Caribbean and some areas of the United States to commemorate the emancipation of slaves of African descent. It is also observed in other areas in remembrance of the abolition of serfdom or other forms of servitude. Ghana joined in the celebration of Emancipation Day in 1998.
W.E.B Du Bois
William Edward Burghardt “W. E. B.” Du Bois (1868-1963) was was a leading African-American sociologist, writer and activist. Educated at Harvard University and other top schools, Du Bois studied with some of the most important social thinkers of his time. He earned fame for the publication of such works as Souls of Black Folk (1903), and was a founding officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and editor of its magazine.
Dubois also taught at Wilberforce University and Atlanta University, and chaired the Peace Information Center. Shortly before his death, Du Bois settled in Ghana to work on the Encyclopedia Africana, a compendium of information on Africans and peoples of African descent throughout the world. Shortly thereafter he joined the American Communist party and became a citizen of Ghana, where he died in 1963.
- See more at: http://thebftonline.com/business/tourism/20194/emancipation-day-2016-starts-today.html#sthash.Q7qaHFm1.dpuf