The Department of History in conjunction with the United States Embassy has mounted a month-long photo exhibition at the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Library, near the Cape Coast Castle. The exhibition was put together through the initiative of a Fulbright Scholar from the Miami State University, Prof. Edmund Abaka has the theme: “Ties that Bind: Roots and Routes of Ghana-U.S. Relations, A 75- Year Retrospective- 1930 -2016”. Prof. Abaka who is an alumnus of the University is currently a faculty member at the Department of History. The photo exhibition is aimed at providing a retrospective look at the relationship between Ghana and the United States of America for the past 75 years. It is also looking at the period where a lot of African Americans visited Ghana at the instance of the first president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to help in nation building. The Vice-Chancellor whose speech was read on his behalf by the Provost of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Prof. L. K. Sam- Amoah said Ghana has had a strong relationship with the US for a long time and has even hosted three presidents of America, these are Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama while they were in office. “UCC has similar connections. Both countries have a long history and the exhibition seeks to trace that,” he added. The Provost of College of Humanities and Legal Studies, Prof. Dora Edu-Buandoh, who also spoke at the function said the College was always ready to collaborate with its external publics adding that the exhibition provided an avenue for both diplomacy and governance. Prof. Edu-Buandoh said she was happy that the first academic programme was being held at the Library since its official opening about a year ago. The Head of Department of History, Prof. Kwame Osei Kwarteng, in a remark, commended the ingenuity of Prof. Edmund Abaka saying he has brought manifold advantages to the Department and also put the University on a high pedestal. Delivering the keynote address, a Fulbright Specialist, Prof. Emerita of Art, Assistant Provost at the Pennsylvania State University, Dr. Grace Hampton said both Africans on the continent and African Americans came from the same source but with time they got spread to other places. Using a tree as a metaphor she said, “We came from the same source but as we grow, we went to different directions”. Dr. Hampton noted that the beauty and fashion in Africa have influenced how Americans especially, their women dress. She said this was even reinforced through music as the father of soul music, James Brown depicted in his popular song “I‘m black and proud” to show the connection between Africa and America. Present at the opening ceremony were the Registrar, Mr. John K. Nyan, Dean Faculty of Arts, Prof. J. B. A Afful, Cultural Affairs Specialist, U.S. Embassy, Maya Parker and the Acting Director of Public Affairs, Maj. (retd.) Kofi Baah- Bentum and a section of the University community.
