Send Shelley to Ghana

Thank you so much for reading this statement of need.

I need to put my feet on the same soil that my ancestors walked on.
I need to immerse my body in the same rivers that my ancestors bathed in.

!! AFRICA !!

Kwame Nkrumah said, "I am not African because I was born in Africa, I am African because Africa was born in me." And right now, it like the umbillical cord was never cut and that Motherland is calling me home. I am ready to return to a place where I have never been ... but I have always known.

I need to raise $6,000 for this Journey of a Lifetime. Please donate to this page to help me go.

I was maybe 9 years old when my mother joined the local chapter of UNIA (the Universal Negro Improvement Association) founded by Marcus Garvey. I vaguely remember her talking about giving just a quarter to help Black people go to Africa. It was the first time that the myth known as Tarzan was debunked in our home. Several years later, we hosted a Nigerian exchange college student in our home. Learning the truth about Africa and Africans intrigued me. The spark was ignited, and there began my quest to return to a place where I have never been ... but I have always known.
I studied African Aesthestics under the instruction of Babatunde Oltunji of Nigeria, hailed as the father of African drumming in the United States. Yoruba language, religion, dance and drumming were all part of my studies. From community engagement to undergraduate studies, I have given purpose to absorbing and re-absorbing my roots. From African dance and drumming performances at Karamu House in Cleveland to proudly marching in the Homowa Festival in Portland, I have absorbed and re-absorbed. From studying African Economics to studying Swahili at Portland State University, I have absorbed and re-absorbed. From befriending and engaging Nigerians, Ghanians, Liberians, Ethiopeans, Tanzanians, and Sudanese, I have absorbed and re-absorbed.
Fast forward to today, and more than ever I can relate to the words of Langston Hughes:
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Langston Hughes

I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy
bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers

It is time for my Journey of a Lifetime. It is time for me to to return to a place where I have never been ... but I have always known. The pull is from the depths of my soul. I need to place my feet on the soil and in the waters. I need to eat the food. I need to recognize faces and mannerisms. I need to sit at the foot of an elder auntie and tell of the struggles and the overcoming. I need to dance freely to the music. I need to be overwhelmed.
And, I need your financial support.

I depart for my Journey of a Lifetime on December 24, 2020, with Africa for the Africans guided by Bomani Tyehimba https://www.africafortheafricans.org/. The tour offers a Diaspora opportunity to learn abou the rich Ghanian culture including:

Accra, Legon & Aburi Mountains and the Kintampo Waterfalls
Elmina & Cape Coast sites of the African Holocaust Dungeons
Kumasi in the Ashanti and a visit to Bonwire Kente Village

I will then have an opportunity to remain in Ghana for an additional 7-10 days with a recently repatriated Black American family.

During the portion of my Journey of a Lifetime, I will explore living/repatriation programs, as well as employment and business opportunities including any potential to collaborate with existing diaspora artists exchange/intern programs.

I need to raise $6,000 for this Journey of a Lifetime.

Please give what you can.

Thank you, and may God bless you today and always.

Shelley B