Ghana, Accra, Muhammida el-Muhajir, African American Travel, American Expat, Motherland, Africa, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN

Why some African Americans are moving to Africa | Al Jazeera

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Why some African Americans are moving to Africa | Al Jazeera



[dropcap]Accra[/dropcap], Ghana – They have come from the big cities of San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. Thousands of them. And many refuse to return.

Ghana, Accra, Muhammida el-Muhajir, African American Travel, American Expat, Motherland, Africa, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNJames Town Lighthouse, Accra, Ghana

Ghana, Accra, Muhammida el-Muhajir, African American Travel, American Expat, Motherland, Africa, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN

A new wave of African Americans is escaping the incessant racism and prejudice in the United States. From Senegal and Ghana to The Gambia, communities are emerging in defiance of conventional wisdom that Africa is a continent everyone is trying to leave. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″]

It is estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 African Americans live in Accra, the Ghanaian capital. They are teachers in small towns in the west or entrepreneurs in the capital and say they that even though living in Ghana is not always easy, they feel free and safe.

Ghana, Accra, Muhammida el-Muhajir, African American Travel, American Expat, Motherland, Africa, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN

Take Muhammida el-Muhajir, a digital marketer from New York City, who left her job to move to Accra.

Ghana, Accra, Muhammida el-Muhajir, African American Travel, American Expat, Motherland, Africa, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN

Ghana, Accra, Muhammida el-Muhajir, African American Travel, American Expat, Motherland, Africa, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNUssher Fortress, Accra, Ghana

She says she moved, because despite her education and experience, she was always made to feel like a second-class citizen. Moving was an opportunity to fulfil her potential and avoid being targeted by racial violence.

She told Al Jazeera her story: