mariama diallo Study Abroad (8 points)

 

I participated in a summer study abroad program in Ghana. It was my first time really and truly experiencing blackness outside of the U.S. particularly in a predominately black country. My father’s side is Guinean, so I understood some of the nuances that existed within African countries. For example, race is not the main issue, classism and tribalism are. The thing is, it's one thing to hear these things and another entirely to experience as an adult. I had the privilege of learning under some filmmakers that often engaged with the local community, which allowed me to see a completely different side of Ghana that tourists don’t often get to see. Of course, we also visited the Door of No Return which was a very tough day emotionally. What blew my mind, however, was seeing people not African Americans taking selfies at the site as through this were an ordinary vacation spot. When I was in conversation with older members of the community later in the trip, I found that similar to guinea, they did not learn about the true horrors of slavery growing up. Although there have been improvements, there is still much more work to be done