Several times in Our Sister Killjoy Sissie or another character mentions “Nkrumah,” the last name of Ghana’s independence leader and first prime minister and president, Kwame Nkrumah. He is undoubtedly one of the most famous individuals in modern African history and we will look briefly at his leadership of the country.
Born in the region of Ghana in what was once called the Gold Coast, Nkrumah was educated both in his home country and in the United States and London. He was a fervent advocate for African independence and joined numerous positions in anti-colonist and Black-nationalist organizations. He helped found the Pan-African Congress in 1945, which worked to end colonial rule.
When he returned to the Gold Coast, he eventually formed the Convention’s People’s Party (CPP) by splitting from the United Gold Coast Convention. He was imprisoned by the British in 1950, but released in 1951 when the CPP won a landslide victory in the general election. His main strategy was “positive action,” which consisted of nonviolence and strikes. He was elected prime minister in 1952.
During his time as prime minister he continued to call for independence, which happened in 1957. In 1960, he formed the Republic of Ghana, and forged alliances with nearby African countries. His call for pan-Africanism was exemplified in his call, “Africa Must Unite,” and he explained, “We are going to see that we create our own African personality and identity. We again rededicate ourselves in the struggle to emancipate other countries in Africa; for our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent.” Additionally, he wrote in his 1961 book I Speak of Freedom, “Divided we are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world. I believe strongly and sincerely that with the deep-rooted wisdom and dignity, the innate respect for human lives, the intense humanity that is our heritage, the African race, united under one federal government, will emerge not as just another world bloc to flaunt its wealth and strength, but as a Great Power whose greatness is indestructible because it is built not on fear, envy and suspicion, nor won at the expense of others, but founded on hope, trust, friendship and directed to the good of all mankind.”
In 1961, he appointed himself supreme commander of the armed forces and head of the CPP, outlawing other political parties. Massive protests occurred in response. While on a trip to Beijing in 1966, there was a coup d’etat (possibly supported by the U.S.) and his government was overthrown. He sought refuge in Guinea and spent the rest of his life in exile, dying in Romania in 1972.
Though he died outside the borders of his own country, did not achieve several of his goals, and made several complicated decisions, he is still largely seen as a hero to the people of Ghana and Africa as a whole. In an editorial written for the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, a student who’d traveled to Ghana wrote, “Because of American influence via the CIA that led to a coup d’état, Nkrumah never saw his goals come to fruition. However, in his short time in power, the advancements that he was able to catalyze in education, healthcare, public infrastructure and industrialization prove that his ideas were not without merit. If you ask the people of Ghana, they will tell you that if he had had more time in power, African people everywhere would be better for it.”
