African-American Students Return to their Roots

Cape Coast, Ghana—On July 6th, 2012 ten African-American students journeyed to Ghana with the Morehouse Pan-African Global Experience (MPAGE).

MPAGE is an innovative, co-ed, study abroad program that brings students to the motherland each summer. The program offers fully accredited courses with specific global and African themes taught by program director, Dr. Cynthia Hewitt, Dr. Samuel Livingston, and Dr. David Rice.

“MPAGE is essential for all college students to understand the origin of humanity because that's Africa,” Dr. Hewitt said. “And then in particular for African-American students because we all know what the American is about, but most African-Americans don't know what the African is about, and for one to carry the moniker 'African-American' their whole life and not know what it means is really a travesty.”

MPAGE's goal is to immerse college students in the African culture and expose them to sustainable possibilities for the people of Africa and its Diaspora. MPAGE focuses on historic knowledge of plants and nature, modern science, and social justice.

“Our program is informed by the ideas of Kwame Nkrumah and all the Pan-Africanists and Nkrumaists that came after him. All of whom tell us that if Africa can unify and be a strong, large country it would be able to solve many of its problems,” Hewitt said.

MPAGE was planned in 2008 with the support of the Salzburg Global Seminar and Mellon Fellow Community Initiative and the first program visited Ghana in the summer of 2009.

In the two weeks that MPAGE has been in Ghana, students have met queen mothers and chiefs and visited Accra, Cape Coast, Kumasi, and the neighboring nation, Togo. Additionally, MPAGE students were able to join the Pan-African Student Summit this year. The program unites African and diasporan students each summer to discuss the uplift of Africa and build international relationships.

Since 2009, MPAGE has visited Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Benin. Future destinations include Brazil, Sudan, Egypt, and Nigeria.

MPAGE program partners include: Africa University College of Communication (AUCC), the Pan African Student Summit, and MOC Pan-Africa Multimedia.

To follow MPAGE's West African excursions follow @MPAGE_ on Twitter and visit mpage1867.wordpress.com.