The Jamestown to Jamestown Memorial Trip to Ghana, an official event of Ghana’s Year of Return, was announced at the 50th NAACP Image Awards in Hollywood, California by Diallo Sumbry, Ghana’s first Black American Tourism Ambassador, in partnership with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Sumbry attended the annual Awards ceremony in his official role where notable celebrities including Beyoncé, Jay Z, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Taraji P. Henson were honoured and the formal announcement of Jamestown to Jamestown was made. Jamestown to Jamestown will provide an opportunity for NAACP leadership, members and the African American community to travel from Jamestown, Virginia, to mark 400 years since the arrival of the first enslaved Africans at this the landing site to the Jamestown section of Accra, Ghana a former port and slave market, for a memorial trip to honour both ancestors and the struggle for Black liberation in August.
Participants of Jamestown to Jamestown will embark on August 18 from Washington, DC by bus to Jamestown, Virginia for a prayer vigil and candle lighting ceremony marking the African “Maafa,” a term describing the horrific suffering embedded in the past four centuries related to the enslavement process. A return trip back to DC for a special gathering at the National Museum of African American History and Culture designed by Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, will be followed by the departure to Ghana for 7 to 10 days of rich cultural, spiritual and cathartic experiences.
“The NAACP has advocated for civil and human rights justice and equity of Black people since being founded in 1909. In my role as one of Ghana’s Tourism Ambassador, I am honoured to manifest partnerships with organizations such as the NAACP to be able to help push how Africa is represented and promoted to the Black diaspora and contribute to this movement in the milestone Year of Return. Jamestown to Jamestown is an effort to connect the Black Diaspora’s present to our African past in ways to empower and invigorate the continued struggle for full liberation and justice worldwide,” shares Diallo Sumbry, the founder of the Washington D.C. based The Adinkra Group, an African Cultural Edutainment Resource and Consulting Company and organizer of the Back2Africa Festival and Tour.
“Jamestown to Jamestown represents one of the most powerful moments in the history of the Black Experience. We are now able to actualize the healing and collective unity so many generations have worked to achieve in ways which bring power to our communities in America, Africa and throughout our Diaspora,” adds Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and CEO.
Jamestown to Jamestown is another event slated for the Year of Return, a year-long major landmark spiritual and birth-right journey inviting the Global African family, home and abroad, to mark 400 years of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Jamestown, Virginia. Event partners include South African Airways, African Ancestry.com, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Ghana Tourism Authority, Diaspora Affairs- Office of the President, Sun Seekers Tour and The Adinkra Group
Jamestown to Jamestown event includes:
- Prayer Vigil at Jamestown, VA Settlement
- Direct Chartered Flight to Ghana from Washington, DC
- Ancestral Healing Ceremony at Jamestown, Accra
- 4 -5 star Hotel Accommodation
- Business, Investment & Development Summit
- Black Tie Gala
- AfricanAncestry.com DNA Reveal Ceremony
- Cape Coast and Elmina Castle Visit
- Assin Manso Last Bath Slave River
- Akwasidae Festival @ Manhyia Palace in Kumasi
To learn more about Jamestown to Jamestown visit: https://www.jamestown2jamestown.com
To learn more about The Year of Return visit: http://www.yearofreturn.com
About NAACP
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas at NAACP.org.
About The Year of Return, Ghana
The “Year of Return, Ghana 2019” is a year-long major landmark spiritual and birth-right journey inviting the Global African family, home and abroad, to mark 400 years of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Jamestown, Virginia. One of the main goals of the Year of Return campaign is to position Ghana as a key travel destination for African Americans and the African Diaspora.
