Ghana’s government recently unveiled a program helping African-Americans relocate to their country.
“We continue to open our arms and invite all our brothers and sisters home,” Ghana’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi said memorial service for George Floyd, the Minneapolis man killed by police last month.
“Ghana is your home. Africa is your home. We have our arms wide open ready to welcome you home. Please take advantage, come home build a life in Ghana, you do not have to stay where you are not wanted forever, you have a choice and Africa is waiting for you.”
Ghana’s government started an initiative called the “Year of Return” last year in which the country was opened up to receive Africans living abroad who were visiting the country. The program has helped thousands of African-Americans relocate.
Okunini Ọbádélé Kambon left the U.S. after he was accused by police of concealing a loaded gun under a seat in his car.
The gun was his, but was not loaded. He was licensed for it. He used it in his role teaching at an outdoor skills camp for disadvantaged kids. The charges were eventually thrown out by a judge after it became clear there wasn’t probable cause for them.
During the trial, Kambon had an epiphany: “I told myself on the witness stand: I will never allow myself to again be in the jurisdiction of these white people who, on a whim, can decide you’re not going to see your family for the next 10 years; who can decide to throw a felony charge on you on a whim,” he said.
He now lives in Ghana and is in the process of renouncing his U.S. citizenship.
Tiffanie Drayton knew she had to leave after her family kept getting priced out of gentrifying neighborhoods in her native New Jersey. She felt they would always be displaced one way or another in the U.S.
After Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman she knew she had to leave.
Drayton, 28, now lives in Trinidad and Tobago. She works out of her home office which has a view of the ocean. She’s writing a book about racism in America.
She said one of the biggest differences in her life now is how she feels comfortable driving her kids around the block to get them to sleep at night without being worried about being pulled over by police.
“In America, your hands are shaking. You’re worried about what to say. You’re worried about whether you have the right ID,” Drayton said. You’re just so worried all the time,”
Read the full report by USA Today here.