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African Americans in Ghana

The history of African Americans in Ghana goes back to individuals such as American civil rights activist and writer W. E. B. Du Bois, who settled in Ghana in the last years of his life and is buried in the capital Accra. Since then, other African Americans who are descended from slaves imported from areas within the present-day jurisdiction of Ghana and neighboring states have applied for permanent resident status in Ghana. As of 2015, the number of African-American residents has been estimated at around 3,000 people, a large portion of whom live in Accra.

As journalist Lydia Polgreen reported in a New York Times article, the fact that Ghanaian slave exports to the Americas was so important between the 16th and 19th centuries has made Ghana currently try to attract the descendants of enslaved Africans from the Americas to return to settle there and make the country their new home – although not all are of Ghanaian descent. As reported by Valerie Papaya Mann, president of the African American Association of Ghana, thousands of African Americans now live in Ghana for at least part of the year. To encourage migration, or at least visits by African Americans, Ghana decided, in 2005, to offer them a special visa and allow them Ghanaian passports.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [1]

Organizations have been established to support Afro-American residents in Ghana, including the African-American Association of Ghana.

American International School of Accra and Lincoln Community School are in Accra.

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