Black voters just helped elect New York City’s new mayor, Zohran K. Mamdani. Mamdani’s middle name is Kwame, which his father gave him in honor of Ghana’s visionary leader, Kwame Nkrumah. Here are three things to know about Nkrumah.
HBCU Graduate: Nkrumah’s love for Black people globally may’ve been influenced by his time in the U.S., where he studied at Lincoln University and pledged Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. in 1942.
Ghana’s First Prime Minister: In 1957, Nkrumah led Ghana to become the first West African country to achieve independence from colonial rule. He famously said, “Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent.”
Global Black Liberation: Nkrumah invited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King to Ghana’s independence ceremony. When King arrived in Accra, he said to Vice President Richard Nixon, “I want you to come visit us down in Alabama, where we are seeking the same kind of freedom the Gold Coast is celebrating.” Nkrumah understood this truth: None of us is free unless all of us are.
Politicians aren’t our key to freedom, but they can contribute to our movement. It’s important to remember that our power to mobilize is the same energy that we need to free ourselves.