Ghana’s reputation as the gateway to Africa continues to soar as more international celebrities make the country their first point of call when they are on the continent. The legendary American singer Stevie Wonder has hinted at relocating to Ghana permanently to escape racism.
The 22 Grammy award-winning musician disclosed this during his recent appearance on the Oprah Winfrey series ‘The Oprah Conversation’. According to the “I Just Called to Say I Love You” hitmaker, he is tired of racial injustice in America and he can’t watch his great-grandchildren beg for respect and value.
“I’m going to move permanently to Ghana. I don’t want to see my children’s, children have to say ‘oh please like me, please respect me, please know that I am important, and please value me’. What is that?”
Stevie Wonder
He however noted that before he relocates to Ghana, he wants to see America smile one more time and iterated that he will make sure he fulfills it before moving to Ghana. He made this assertion saying: “I want to see the nation smile again, and I want to see it before I move to Ghana, I’m going to do that.
Mr. Wonder has visited the country on numerous occasions and has been recorded in the past describing Ghana as a place with “more of a sense of community” having “fallen in love” with the country during his visits.
Stevie Wonder wouldn’t be the only American celebrity to want to relocate to Ghana to escape the ‘American life’. It can be recalled that Dream Chasers boss, Meek Mill who considered the idea to visit Ghana and join other artists to perform, later revealed in a Twitter post that he wouldn’t want to only visit Ghana but to also acquire a property. The Philadelphia-born superstar noted that he wants to buy a house in Ghana to have the experience of living the African way since he didn’t want to live all his life the American way.
That aside, last two years in July, the government of Ghana welcomed Blacks from the U.S. seeking to get away from the racial turmoil in the country. In 2019, the government of Ghana launched a campaign called “The Year of the Return” to mark 400 years since the first enslaved African arrived in Jamestown Virginia. Due to its coastal location, Ghana housed over 75% of the slave dungeons. Many of which still stand today before, Africans were shipped off to the “New World” and enslaved.
The government even linked up with local chiefs to set aside 500 acres of land, which will accommodate about 1,500 new families. The promotion attracted A-listers like Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Cardi B., Ludacris, T.I., and Samuel L. Jackson, and Meek Mill.
