THE YEAR OF RETURN, 2019: Exploring Narratives of the African-American

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Year of Return narratives offered the African-Americans more than just a typical tourism experience; it became a profound journey imbued with personal significance, fulfilling desires that conventional narratives could not satiate. This study analyzed the narratives of the African-Americans during their tourism experience in the Year of Return, 2019 Campaign. The study employed the qualitative narrative inquiry as the method of data collection and data analysis. Using the negotiation identity theory and the conceptualizing of the African-American as the African diaspora, the study points out the following: the African-American had been eager to visit Ghana, not because of the Year of Return narrative, but because they themselves had been ready to discover a part of them that is missing. The real meaning of identity is a unanimous exposure to the Ghanaian rich culture. The culture, the people, the dance, the cloths among others are vibrant narratives of identification – Also a performative expression of the imagined identity. Personal experiences influence and shape identity in a meaningful way than collective, organized experiences for the African American. When you compare the various narratives, it is evident that, the everyday, day to day tourism activities and self-travel have more meaningful experiences to the African-American than the visits around the slave heritage sites or the organized programmes. While these visits create sober reflections and emotional gesticulations, it would not necessarily shape identity. On the other hand, the personal experience through the personal encounter tends to be more significant and identity transforming. Identity transformation is a process that takes time to achieve, the identity transformation is different for everyone, how one person experiences a phenomenon will not be the same way others will experience it.