This Lecture uses poetry and photographs to tell the history of the Slave Forts that dominate the seacoast of Ghana. Over the centuries, more than 70 slave forts were constructed. Ironically, the Gold Coast would later become the first independent country in Africa and its first president, Kwame Nkrumah would become a leader in the Pan-Africanist movement. We’ll take a visual journey to see some of the surviving forts that serve as reminders of the brutality of the slave trade and how the foundation of a capitalist system was built through slave labor.

"I had the good fortune of hearing, and seeing, Christle Rawlins-Jackson's presentation,"Ghana's Unabating Reminder of the Transatlantic Slave Trade" one Sunday afternoon.  It was, for me, a very moving and powerful experience. Christle introduced us in the audience to the devastating truth of the transatlantic slave trade.  Christle took us into the reality of the Ghanaian slave forts, both as they were and as they are, through a combination of visual imagery, spoken word, and song.   She did so with great skill, sharing the harshness and horrors of the reality without bringing a sense of blame on to the audience.  I left the presentation feeling newly informed, empowered, and responsible.   Christle is a gifted speaker, and her presentation is a beautifully constructed opportunity to look at what we simply don't want to see. " –BM