Date of Independence: March 6,1957

Formerly: the Gold Coast, a British colony

Flag: the three colors (red, green, and black)and the black star in the middle are all symbolic of the pan-Africanist movement, which was a key theme in the early history of Ghanas independence

Summary of Ghanas history: Much was expected and hoped for from Ghana at independence, but like all new countries during the Cold War, Ghana faced immense challenges. Ghanas first President, Kwame Nkrumah, was ousted nine years after independence, and for the next twenty-five years, Ghana was typically governed by military rulers, with varying economic impacts. The country returned to stable democratic rule in 1992, however, and has built a reputation as a stable, liberal economy.

Ghana’s independence from Britain in 1957 was widely celebrated in the African diaspora. African-Americans, including Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, visited Ghana, and many Africans still struggling for their own independence looked on it as a beacon of the future to come.

Within Ghana, people believed they would finally benefit from the wealth generated by the countrys cocoa farming and gold mining industries.

Much was also expected of Kwame Nkrumah, the charismatic first President of Ghana. He was an experienced politician. He had led the Convention Peoples Party during the push for independence and served as Prime Minister of the colony from 1954 to 1956, as Britain eased toward independence. He was also an ardent pan-Africanist and helped found the Organization of African Unity.

Initially, Nkrumah rode a wave of support in Ghana and the world. Ghana, however, faced all the same, daunting challenges of Independence that would soon be felt across Africa. Among these was its economic dependence on the West.

Nkrumah tried to free Ghana from this dependence by building the Akosambo Dam on the Volta River, but the project put Ghana deeply in debt and created intense opposition. His own party worried the project would

2098 Black Facts for December