Identity, Art, and Fashion

There I stood looking at a person that I describe as myself. A person, who is dark in skin, wears glasses, stands 5 feet and 8 inches tall, and still feels this lost sense of awareness of his own family’s history and culture. When did my skin become called “black” when it reminded me of the brown crayon I used as a toddler? Why did I feel connected to the hundreds and thousands of people of this “unknown” place many call “uncivilized, poor, the motherland”? I can truly tell you that my experience thus far in Ghana is surprising me continuously.

As we continue speaking and talking to our Ghanaian peers about their culture, lifestyle, and the Pan African movement led by Ghana’s former president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, it becomes all too real for me. This experience is allowing me to learn about the parts of history I have been missing or never taught. It is as if it a mirror was broken from those of African descent for centuries, and never really put back together. That is how I felt as I stood in the mirror this morning, combing my thick rough wavy black hair, trying to figure out what was missing from my life. These last few days have sprouted nothing but seeds that has started the new roots of what it means to be Black in America, African, to have peace, family, sacrifice, and strength. As a result, it is fostering growth in countless ways. I am not only learning the Ghanaian and African culture, but also the untold history of African American culture.  In addition, I am absorbing how I react to working with others, dealing with time in another country, and self-reflection. 

 Secondly, I have learned that real African art and fashion exist. It is diverse, it is elegant, it is creative, it is different, and I call that true art. Sitting in the Annual African Fashion Show was no different. There were designers from all over Africa from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Angola, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, just to name a few. These fashions were beautiful and exciting. I do not think I have ever left a fashion show that excited before. However, since it was mostly traditional clothing I wondered where would I wear it and when would be the most appropriate time.  That day came a few days later after I purchased my first African linen shirt. I felt great wearing it, so I purchased another African shirt with a different pattern.

Anywho, we are now on our way to Cape Coast for the rest of the week to the slave dungeons. I am overwhelmed with excitement already, but I hope I can keep myself together as my classmates and I reflect over the history lost at sea.