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overwhelming majority of the sites. These European great grandfathers educated their

light skinned children to create Ghana's first "intellectual" class. These offspring

became rich from the African slave trade. So, in many ways, when we were sold by our

Ghanaian relatives hundreds of years ago, we were, in their eyes, already slaves. Today

these families still exist, along with the descendants of the rich gold owning chiefs of the

North. They walk with a pride and dignity that all the years of colonization could nevererase. But this pride, or "elitism", creates subtle, but very real, barriers amongst the

Ghanaians themselves, as well as with diasporans. I have been told that you are

essentially a nobody unless you have a family name that people recognize as one of the

large clan names.

..I had to shed a layer of romanticism about formal African education as a way that

African culture is passed on. Education in Ghana is not Afrocentric. The colonial

vestiges have left many of the schools wallowing in an un-Godly neo-missionary

quagmire. I have often engaged in discussions with diasporians in Ghana about our

disappointment with the educational system. Many of them expected our Ghanaian

brothers and sisters to be more "African" than we were. My response to them wasusually that colonization did the same thing to us at home, that slavery did to us

abroad.

Miscommunications and myths, from both sides of the water, have often created

unnecessary conflicts between diasporans and continental Africans. We ain't rich, and

they ain't undisciplined. True enough, sometimes we are not greeted at the airport with

open arms, and are perceived as "obronis," a Ga word meaning foreigner or white.

Even Ghanaians, returning home after schooling abroad, suffer these same social

barriers. Some of us have managed to destroy the Tarzan image in our minds, but have

replaced it with an equally dangerous myth. We idealize Africa as a paradise where we

think we can pick mangos off of trees, and live on beautiful beaches happily ever after.

..Who do we think we are when we return home? Many return as Americans,

Jamaicans, or been to's, (Ghanaians who have been to England, their former colonial

master.). How we answer the question of our own self-perception will determine how we

live, and how we are perceived, when we resettle at home. The answer for many of us is

often an emotional collage of conflicting ideas. On one occasion this conflict was vividly

illuminated to me while I was passing through a very busy Accra market. The usual

crowds, smells, and colors were alive and well. I was stopped by an elderly sista who

was admiring my T-shirt which read, "We are Africans Period." This woman, who

reminded me of one of my own aunties, warmly held my arms and said, "This isbeautiful; thank you for wearing it. It's true we are all Africans." I blushed with pride

and a sense of belonging. Later on that same day, while visiting a friend at Ghana

University, a student belligerently asked why I was wearing such a thing. We engaged in

a friendly debate, very common with Ghanaians, who are known for their hospitality

and curiosity. He told me that we needed to forget about that slavery stuff and move on.

My emotions were swept back to a sadness my Ghanaian auntie had previously

dispelled.

I can say that I have never felt more safe and secure than when I am in Ghana. Day or

night, I've felt at peace. My ten year old daughter could go to a neighbor's house, or the

corner vendor, at any hour of the day or night and be safe. Ghana still has the extendedfamily structure we reminisce about. Remember when your neighbor down the street

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was always looking out for you, and would whip you for misbehaving if your mama was

not around to discipline you? Now, in America, the fear of being violated is a constant

threat, no matter where you work, live, or play. So when asked if I really felt like I was

"home," my response is, if home is a place where you can feel safe and secure, and

where you and your children are historically connected, then yes, I was at home in

Ghana. But when asked to answer the question of whether I will really integrate into thesociety I must answer, "Maybe my daughter's children will. I will be accepted because I

am determined to shed my ignorant attitudes and Westernized behavior." Acceptance is

not, however, the same as integration.

The adjustment for "outsiders" within any living environment is a difficult task, and it

is particularly more challenging in places like Africa. Those of us who choose to relocate

to our ancestral homeland must do so with patience and understanding. If we are to

adjust and integrate over time, perhaps generations down the road, we must leave as

many as possible of our "Americanisms" behind. Africa is the true source of our

salvation. Going home to the motherland is key in our ability to reclaim our original

social mores and sense of spiritual balance. Garvey, Malcolm, Harriet, Nkrumah, andFannie Lou knew this! All human have culture that connects them to their natural

homeland. African has historically fed her children, at home and aborad, with the

cultural food necessary for surviving and resisting all forms of starvation we have

endured as an African people. African is the essence of who we are, who we were, and

who we always will be.

Nehanda Imara

Nehanda Imara is a mother, educator, activi st, and freelance journali st. She is cur rentl y a staff member at

San Jose University work ing as a counselor for Student Development Services