Howard University Honors Ghana

As part of activities that preceded The Twenty-Seventh Annual Merze Tate Lecture in Diplomatic History at Howard University in Washington, DC, two countries, Ghana and China were honored with certificate presentations for their preservation of Pan-African values and culture.

The Lecture series, instituted by Howard, one of America’s oldest and well-known black universities, also remembered the contribution of W.E.B. Du Bois whose book, The Soul of Black Folk hits a centenarian mark this year. It was in addition, to also celebrate Du Bois passing away forty years ago in Ghana whose citizen he became courtesy of the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in 1963.

While the contribution of Ghana in Pan-Africanism led by Kwame Nkrumah has never been in doubt, Jahi Issa, the co-coordinator of the lecture series and a historian at Howard University explained that many people especially African-Americans do not know that the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum in Accra was largely built by the Chinese Government which also made equally great contribution in Du Bois memory.

In accepting the honor on behalf of the Government of Ghana, the Minister Counselor at the Ghana Embassy, Mr. Ivor Agyeman-Duah expressed appreciation to the university. He said, the legacy of Du Bois as the intellectual guide in the struggle of black people and as the driving force in the de-colonization of Africa was well registered. Mr. Agyeman-Duah, however described as disturbing the prevailing low morale and lack of logistics at the Du Bois Centre for Pan-African Culture in Accra. As part of the public service structure of the Government of Ghana, the Centre will need a private sector support to make it more vibrant. He appealed to American institutions especially universities that have W.E. Du Bois departments to liaise with the Centre to preserve his intellectual property .This he said, was notwithstanding present and past Governments great interest in the Centre.

Mr. Agyeman-Duah explained that the appointment of Dr. Sekou Nkrumah as the Executive Director of the Centre is the most strategic decision made since Du Bois was re-interred in 1985. “Sekou Nkrumah is the closest image and spirit of his father. It is more likely he can draw memories of Kwame Nkrumah and easier to raise funds to complete the honor project of his father”.

He figured out that the many people at the auditorium for the lecture were there because they wanted to listen Dr. Sekou Nkrumah, son of Kwame Nkrumah, as he delivered the Merze Tate Lecture in Diplomatic History under the title Preserving History: A Tribute to W.E.B. Du Bois.

Dr. Sekou Nkrumah explained that he was in the United States to sell his vision on how to run the Du Bois Centre and make it the biggest Pan-African Centre in Africa. He said that he had already struck a partnership with Howard University for the Centre .“We will need millions of dollars to fulfill the vision.” The activities of the Centre will cover education, internships for African-American among others. Dr. Nkrumah’s vision as it was obvious from the historical evolution of his lecture and its practical manifestation till the independence of Ghana in March 6, 1957, paid tribute not only to Du Bois but other Pan-Africanists including Slyvester Williams.

The Merze Tate Lecture in Diplomatic History, a series named in honor of the Oxford and Harvard educated African-American who taught at Howard and many other places, described Dr. Sekou Nkrumah in growing terms. Born in Accra, Ghana in 1964, Sekou Nkrumah was named after his father’s close friend, Sekou Ture, the former President of Guinea. Sekou received his M.A. from the University of Bucharest, Romania and in 1989 earned his Ph. D at the same university. He taught at the University of Ghana and has also been a journalist. He assumed directorship of the Centre last June.