This is a beautiful picture. More importantly, it speaks to the heart of what Democrats are about.
This is the best rebuke of white supremacist White House venom possible.
The responses, from Democrats on twitter have been heartening.
The timely symbolism of a “400 years” visit to Ghana by Nancy Pelosi and black US congress members
As Donald Trump marked the 400th anniversary of American democracy in Virginia, top Democrats who had stayed away from the commemoration were observing a 400th anniversary of a different kind – one inextricably linked to the founding of the United States. In southern Ghana, US House speaker Nancy Pelosi and 13 members of the Congressional Black Caucus were observing the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in Virginia. The lawmakers visited the Cape Coast and Elmina slave castles, where hundreds of thousands of captured Africans were forced onto ships never to return.
“Our souls have been touched by what we saw there…These profound places are a sobering testament to humanity’s capacity for great evil and also a helpful reminder of the capacity for great resilience, renewal and strength of a people,” Pelosi said in an address to Ghana’s parliament on Wednesday (July 31).
The US delegation to Ghana included civil rights icon John Lewis and Ilhan Omar, two on a long list of politicians of color at the receiving end of racist remarks by the current US president. Their arrival in Ghana comes at a time of heightened racial tensions in the US as Trump tweeted his second racist remarks in as many weeks targeted at congressman Elijah Cummings of Baltimore. Earlier this month, the president asked four congresswomen of color, including Omar, to go back where they came from and his supporters chanted “send her back” at the mention of Omar’s name at a rally. This is despite the fact that all the Congresswomen are US citizens.
Ghana, a significant place of origin for enslaved Africans in the Americas, has launched a year-long commemorative initiative called “The Year of Return”. Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo said at the Washington DC launch in October 2018 that the commemoration is meant to encourage people of African ancestry to make the “birthright journey home for the global African family.”
Pelosi says ‘humbled’ by Ghana visit to gateway to slavery
The visit by Pelosi’s delegation marks Ghana’s Year of the Return, which reaches out to the millions of Africans in the diaspora. “It is important that this symbolic year, 400 years later, we commemorate their existence and their sacrifices,” Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo said.
Pelosi called the Year of the Return a “beautiful gesture” that also recognizes a “terrible atrocity” in slavery. She said she and others had been transformed by this week’s visit.
“At Elmina Castle we saw the dungeons where thousands were grotesquely tortured,” she said. “At Cape Coast Castle we stood before The Door of No Return, where countless millions caught their last glimpse of Africa before they were shipped to a life of enslavement.”
Pelosi also paid tribute to the West African nation’s groundbreaking independence in 1957. Ghana was the first British colony to gain independence, an event that inspired people across the continent to push for the same.
Congresswoman Bass said in the statement: “400 years ago this year, our ancestors were first brought to this continent in chains… Twelve Members of the Congressional Black Caucus will return to the African continent as Members of the United States Congress. We have come so far but we still have so far to go. Among the history being made this trip, I am very much also looking forward to witnessing the first woman Speaker of the United States House of Representatives address the Ghanaian parliament. I thank Speaker Pelosi for leading this important trip and for joining us in sending a signal of mutual respect and partnership to Ghana and the continent of Africa as a whole.”
Thank you Black Caucus. Thank you Speaker Pelosi. Thank you President Nana Akufo-Addo.