Prof Sutherland-addy urges reparative justice, cultural preservation

Africans must preserve ancestral legacies, deepen cultural identity, and pursue reparative justice, Prof. Esi Sutherland-Addy, Chairperson of the International Board of Trustees of the PANAFEST Foundation, has said.

She emphasised the need for collective action to honour the sacrifices of the past and shape a resilient future through storytelling and historical memory.

Prof. Sutherland-Addy made the call during the 2025 PANAFEST and Emancipation Day wreath-laying ceremony at the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre, the George Padmore Library, and the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park.

“Our ancestors would have fought in vain unless we are able to tell the story to ourselves and to the next generation. We must not forget, because forgetting is death. It is a form of disability.

“If we forget who we are, we cease to exist. And the worst thing is to let someone else tell us who we are,” she stated.

Prof. Sutherland-Addy said the 2025 commemoration marked the 80th anniversary of the Fifth Pan-African Congress, a historic movement that inspired leaders including Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta in their pursuit of African unity.

“It is important to honour this milestone, recognising that such historic movements laid the groundwork for freedom on the continent,” she said.

Prof. Sutherland-Addy described PANAFEST and Emancipation Day as platforms for reflection, healing, and self-renewal.

“They give us space to concentrate unapologetically on ourselves — to know who we are and what to do next.”

She urged traditional leaders and educators to integrate African stories into school curricula and digital platforms.

“We must tell our children our story — through oral traditions, textbooks, and digital platforms. The work of our forebearers must not end with us.

“They worked not knowing us, not being paid by us, but believing in us. We owe it to them and to the next generation to continue what they began,” she stressed.

On this year’s theme, “Let us speak of reparative justice – Pan-African artistic activism,” she said Africans must confront historical trauma and pursue lasting healing.

“We cannot suppress the past or pretend it is okay. It is not okay. Our ancestors endured the abuse, the thorns, the paths through forests and savannahs, and we must ensure it never happens again.”

She emphasised the role of art as a force for resistance and restoration.

“Our artists give us power, so we must celebrate them, support them, and let their voices carry our truths.”

Prof. Sutherland-Addy reaffirmed that PANAFEST is a Ghanaian platform for African unity and self-determination and must be sustained through collective ownership.

“Let’s be good stewards and ensure it keeps rising and never declines.”

Mr. Rex Owusu Marfo, Coordinator of the Black Star Experience, said the ceremony signified cultural resistance and economic empowerment.

“This ceremony is not a mere ritual, but rebellion — a defiance of historical and racial violence through the alchemy of arts and activism. The wreaths are not symbols of mourning, but seeds of reckoning.”

He called on the diaspora to view the wreaths as a covenant and rally behind Ghana’s leadership in reparative justice.

“Let us wield Kente looms as balance sheets, highlife rhythms as court transcripts, and our very bodies as monuments to unyielding demands. What is ours must be retained — in wealth, in truth, and in art,” Mr. Owusu Marfo stated.

Source: GNA

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