The 17th Pan African Festival (PANAFEST) seminar concluded in Tamale with prominent voices demanding reparations for Africans and their descendants impacted by the transatlantic slave trade.
Held under the theme ‘Let us speak of reparations: Pan-Africanist artistic activism’, the event focused specifically on ‘Narratives of Resistance to Slavery in Northern Ghana’, attracting students, researchers, diaspora communities, and tourism stakeholders.
Professor Felix Y.T. Longi, Senior Research Fellow at the University for Development Studies (UDS), stated reparations are essential to address systemic inequities stemming directly from slavery and colonialism. He argued reparations extend beyond financial compensation, representing a crucial step towards healing, reconciliation, and building a fairer society. “Reparations acknowledge the deep harm caused by slavery and its enduring impact on Black communities. They are a form of justice and a step toward correcting injustices of the past,” Prof. Longi stated, emphasizing their role in restoring dignity.
Meanwhile, Ekow Sampson, Deputy CEO of Operations at the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), highlighted the critical need to elevate resistance narratives from Northern Ghana. He noted these stories are often overlooked compared to the focus on coastal slave forts and castles. Sampson cited the bravery of communities in Nalerigu, Mamprugu, and Dagbon who actively resisted slave raids and constructed defensive settlements. “Northern Ghana holds powerful stories of courage and resistance that must be told with pride and authenticity. These stories are critical to our national history,” he said.
Sampson reaffirmed the GTA’s commitment to supporting PANAFEST and Emancipation Day as vital platforms for diaspora education, healing, and reconnection. He detailed ongoing efforts to document and develop heritage resistance sites across the Northern Region to boost domestic and international tourism. The Authority called on traditional leaders, academics, communities, and the diaspora to collaborate in preserving these narratives and locations. “By investing in research, education and storytelling, we preserve not just monuments but also memory – for future generations to understand our past and appreciate our progress,” Sampson concluded.