While traveling and writing about Africa and what is happening on this great continent, I have encountered many opinions. I try to deal with people on their various levels and I also try never to be a reactionary. However, I could not help but to react to an article, which appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, March 14, titled, "Tangled Roots: For Black Americans in Ghana, the Grass Isn�t Always Greener." Since I have lived in Ghana for 10 years as well as traveled to many parts of Africa, I must respond to such a derogatory article written by Pascal Zachary.

The Wall Street Journal is one of the most conservative newspapers in America, from what I know of it. Its focus is on business issues. However, the only business that was highlighted in this article was the establishment of a vegetarian restaurant in the Cape Coast and Elmina area, and the adventures of the owner. The writer mentioned that the Black American community is drawn to Ghana "by beautiful beaches, tropical climate, low living costs and most of all a sense that this historical heart of the slave trade is an ancestral homeland." I thought it odd for a paper like the Wall Street Journal not to have mentioned the Ghanaian stock market, its gold or even it�s tourism. Perhaps, I thought, it would at least mention that many are interested in the opportunities to conduct business in Africa.

Many Black Americans have made a conscious decision to move to Africa to escape the blatant, harsh racism that exists in America. Another incentive is the lack of opportunities in America to use their God-given talents and skills, which were learned while living in America. These same skills and talents are very useful on the African continent. I know that the Wall Street Journal is not a major voice for the plight of the Black community. However, it is interesting that this point was missed altogether.

The writer talked about malaria, knowing that many of the readers of the article have not studied tropical diseases. Some people only know it as a name, some kind of sickness that you get in the tropics. He mentioned how electric and water supplies are often interrupted. His point, I ascertained, was to list all the reasons that one should not have the desire to travel to Africa, Ghana in particular.

The writer mentions that the Black Americans are lumped together with white Americans and are called "obruni" or white by the Ghanaians. He also mentions that many Ghanaians see the African Americans as arrogant, which is absolutely correct. However, what I would like to add is that many of the Black Americans who are trained, taught and shaped in white America have taken on the arrogant attitude of the Americans that is seen all over the world. Since we have been under the tutelage of white America for over 400 years, we have taken on the same arrogance. This is why we need Africa as much as Africa needs us.

We have the opportunity to learn some valuable cultural lessons. Our first lesson we should learn as Black Americans or Africans from the Diaspora is a lesson in humility and cultural nuances. We must learn something about the continent from which we were snatched. We must critically examine the effects and the horrors of slavery. We need to throw off the shackles of the arrogance taught to us by a very arrogant slave master.

Those of us who may have read this article may have understood the real message was designed to discourage the movement of Black capital investment in Ghana that would create the kind of financial marriage that is direly needed on the African continent.

FinalCall.com