The stories must be told - Kamala Harris speaks about slavery during visit to Cape Coast Castle

US Vice President, Kamala Harris has emphasised the need for the history of the sufferings of the victims of the Transatlantic slave trade to be told and taught.

Visiting the Cape Coast Castle built by Ghana’s colonial masters on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, the Vice President said the victims were: “in often many situations (faced with) odds that were designed to break them, to demoralise them, create systems and situations that were to make them feel like less than humans, less than full human beings.

"But yet they survived and they tell yet another history, a history of endurance, a history of faith, a history in believing what is possible. A history not only that tells about the ability that each individual has to survive but to thrive,” she stressed.

“All these stories must be told; all these stories must be told in a way that we take from this place the pain we all feel. The anguish that leaks from this place and then we all carry the knowledge that we have may gained here towards the work that we do in lifting up all people.

"In recognising the struggles of all people are fighting for as the walls of this place talks about; justice and freedom for all people, human rights for all people. So that is what I take from being here,” she added.

Kamala Harris arrived in Ghana on Sunday, March 26, 2023, as part of her tour of three African countries including Zambia and Uganda.

Her visit forms part of moves by America to strengthen its relationship with Africa in the face of the growing influence of Russia and China on the continent.

Prior to visiting the Castle on Tuesday, the Vice President held a joint press briefing with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo following a meeting between the two.

She also held a public address at the Independence Arc in Accra where she outlined some policies of the US government targeted at various sectors of Ghana including the economy, youth empowerment and technology.

Today, I visited Cape Coast Castle in Ghana.

Hundreds of thousands of enslaved African people were forced here, tortured, and brutalized.

The horrific journey that began here shaped the history of the world. This history must always be remembered, understood, and taught. pic.twitter.com/8GD1WZN1G8

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) March 29, 2023