Vice President Jane Opoku-Agyemang calls for accurate teaching of slavery history in schools

Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has urged a fundamental shift in how the transatlantic slave trade is taught in schools, emphasizing the importance of understanding its devastation and the resistance exhibited by Africans. She argued that accurate historical representation should be integrated into education systems worldwide, with a focus on reparatory justice.

"This history should be reflected accurately in our knowledge systems and encourage countries to integrate reparatory justice into their education broadly conceived in all its different forms," she stated.

Speaking at a ceremony in Accra following the adoption of UN General Assembly Resolution 82/50, which recognized the transatlantic slave trade as the greatest crime against humanity, Opoku-Agyemang highlighted the role of education in fulfilling the responsibility created by this recognition. "Our young people should understand how the trade operated, how it shaped societies on both sides of the Atlantic and why its consequences remain part of international discussion today," she explained.

The Vice President stressed the necessity of portraying Africans not merely as victims but as active agents in their own resistance. "Africans were more than the people to whom enslavement happened," she noted. She elaborated that African communities actively resisted capture, defended their territories, escaped, and worked to preserve their freedom. "We remember suffering, but we also remember agency, resistance and survival," she affirmed.

Opoku-Agyemang pointed to evidence of this resistance in various communities, such as Assin Manso, Sankana, and Golu, where oral traditions, written records, architecture, and the landscape bear witness to the period's impact. She argued that a comprehensive understanding of the history is crucial not only for remembering the past but also for informing contemporary discussions on justice.

The call aligns with Ghana's broader initiative in response to the UN resolution, with the government focusing on education, preservation, restitution, legal avenues, and ongoing international cooperation on reparatory justice. Opoku-Agyemang acknowledged the limitations of the resolution in reversing centuries of injustice. "A resolution cannot repair centuries of injustice," she admitted. However, she maintained that it serves as a strong foundation for ongoing dialogue and action towards achieving justice.