That’s what a young boy asked a mutual friend of ours in Cape Coast, Ghana, Sunday afternoon.

I had met him once before, when I had volunteered to photograph a party for orphans in a popular restaurant near the Castle.

This time, I was one of a small group of African Diasporans who had gathered in the seaside town to commemorate Emancipation Day, the anniversary of the British government’s decision to outlaw the slave trade in 1833.

The Slavery Abolition Act took effect in most British-controlled territories on August 1, 1834.

In Ghana, Emancipation Day is not just one day; instead, it is a series of events that stretch over an entire weekend. I like to think of it as a traditional Ghanaian funeral of sorts – a rite performed for our ancestors who were snatched away from home.

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