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The Slave Route Project and Research into Kinship


Slave Routes of Africa (Click to enlarge)

The dark historical era of the Slave Trade saw many of our people, and those of other African lands, taken by force across the seas to the plantations of America and the Caribbean, creating the biggest diaspora the world has ever seen.


"It is believed 16% of the total slaves taken to the United States between 1690 and 1807 were from Ghana alone. Between 1710 and 1769, 16% of the slaves required by the State of Virginia and 13.3% of slaves needed by South Carolina were from Ghana". (taken from the Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery and published in the Daily Graphic of February 16, 1999 in Ghana).

The infamous Slave Trade is now of the past, but citizens of many states around the world still acknowledge and treasure their ancestral links with Ghana, a situation they very much wish to explore and experience. UNESCO in collaboration with other donor agencies is assisting Ghana to document and trace this period of history through a Trans-Atlantic Slave Route Project.


Ghana welcomes her lost children from around the world and has instituted a Kinship Research programme to assist those in the diaspora, especially from the USA and the Caribbean, to explore their ancestry in history and from Ghana.


Slave Auction. Also called "BLACK FRIDAY"


  • The George Padmore Library, the Du Bois Memorial Centre and the

    University of Ghana at Legon all in Accra, are rich repositories of the chronicles of the diaspora. In these, and other institutions, manuscripts and records provide researchers with a wealth of knowledge.

    Expert researchers and elders from all the ethnic groups in the country are willing to assist the serious explorer.

    To assist serious researcher the following organisations may be able to provide important information:

  • The Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan African Culture
    P. O. Box C975
    Accra, Ghana.

    The Balme Library
    University of Ghana at Legon
    P. O. Box 25 Legon
    Accra, Ghana.

    The National Museum of Ghana
    P. O. Box M.40
    Accra, Ghana.

    The National Commission for Culture
    P. O. Box 3356
    Accra, Ghana.

  • Welcome to a space where history speaks, and heritage lives on.

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W.E.B. Du Bois Timeline

1868 - 1897

1. Early Life & Education (1868–1897)

Key Focus: Academic Excellence and Intellectual Formation

  • 1868: Born on February 23 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts

  • 1888–1890: Attends Fisk University in Tennessee

  • 1890–1895: Studies at Harvard University; becomes the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard

  • 1892–1894: Studies at the University of Berlin in Germany, developing a global perspective on race and imperialism

  • 1897: Publishes The Suppression of the African Slave Trade, based on his Ph.D. thesis

1997 - 1934

2. Civil Rights Activism & Scholarly Leadership (1897–1934)

Key Focus: Pan-Africanism, NAACP, The Crisis, and The Souls of Black Folk

  • 1897–1910: Professor at Atlanta University, conducts landmark sociological research on Black life in America

  • 1903: Publishes The Souls of Black Folk, a foundational text in African-American literature and sociology

  • 1905: Co-founds the Niagara Movement, advocating for full civil rights

  • 1909: Helps establish the NAACP

  • 1910–1934: Serves as editor of The Crisis, the NAACP’s official magazine

  • 1919–1921: Helps organize several Pan-African Congresses, uniting people of African descent globally

  • 1935: Publishes Black Reconstruction in America, a groundbreaking reanalysis of the Reconstruction Era

1934 - 1961

3. Political Radicalization & Global Engagement (1934–1961)

Key Focus: Socialism, Internationalism, and Pan-African Unity

  • 1934: Resigns from the NAACP due to ideological differences

  • 1940: Founds and edits Phylon, a scholarly journal on race and culture

  • 1945: Participates in the Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester, England

  • 1951: Marries Shirley Graham Du Bois, writer and fellow activist

  • 1950s: Advocates peace, socialism, and nuclear disarmament; targeted by U.S. government during McCarthy era

  • 1961: Moves to Ghana at the invitation of President Kwame Nkrumah to work on the Encyclopaedia Africana

1961 - 1963

4. Final Years & Legacy (1961–1963 and Beyond)

Key Focus: Ghanaian Citizenship, Death, and Lasting Legacy

  • 1961: Becomes a Ghanaian citizen and renounces U.S. citizenship

  • 1963: Dies in Accra, Ghana, on August 27, one day before the March on Washington

  • 1964: The U.S. enacts the Civil Rights Act, fulfilling many of Du Bois's lifelong goals

  • 1985: The W.E.B. Du Bois Centre for Pan-African Culture is established in Accra, Ghana, as his final resting place and a living memorial

Monday

09:00 - 18.00

Tuesday

09:00 - 18.00

Wednesday

09:00 - 18.00

Thursday

09:00 - 18.00

Friday

09:00 - 18.00

Saturday

09:00 - 18.00

Sunday

09:00 - 18.00

3 Slider Pages

The Museum Library and Seminar Room, located in his former home, are now in urgent need of restoration and refurbishment. The Library, housing Dr. DuBois' personal collection along with a range of works related to him and Pan Africanism, requires expansion to achieve international recognition. Visitors must obtain special permission to access Du Bois' personal library if they wish to view the list of books he used for his studies.

Slide 1

The deterioration of the Centre is apparent, even to the casual visitor. Its lack of programming is concerning to those who wish to see Dr. DuBois's ideals broadly embraced by Ghanaians, young people of African descent in the diaspora, researchers, and anyone interested in learning more about Dr. DuBois and Pan-Africanism. Due to inadequate funding and internal mismanagement, the Centre has managed to survive but is unable to thrive.

Slide 2

The doors may be open, but there is little to see and even less to experience, aside from a somewhat amusing director and a woman who claims to oversee the museum, greeting visitors with a rather reserved demeanor.
The Memorial Centre requires "New Life" (and new management) to transform it into a hub of information, a forum for discourse, and a center for serious research in the twenty-first century. Its purpose is twofold: first, it serves as a memorial to Dr. DuBois.

Slide 3

Secondly, it aims to be a vibrant and dynamic space that promotes the ideals of Pan Africanism by demonstrating their practical applications to contemporary social, political, economic, and cultural conditions. While the Centre stands as a lovely tribute to Dr. DuBois, it must also be expressed through its programs, its expanding collection of relevant works, and its growing influence and engagement within the community, Africa, the diaspora, and the world at large.