Our Story
A youthful teen boldly entered new territory when she immigrated from Ghana to the USA in 2010. Upon immigrating, her bold personality found opposition in the reflection of identity.
There was a realization that identity gaps were the combination of imposed narratives and lost stories. In her immigration, she lived with identity gaps daily. At her origin, a priority of post-colonial influence in the Ghanaian education system lessened the connection to local culture. In her new home, a lack of authentic reports revealed the inconsistent representation of Black culture in the American education system. During her efforts to self-educate, an oversaturated internet made trustworthy sources about her culture difficult to find.
Eager for more cultural knowledge, her boldness became the path to mend this identity story stretching from the present to the past. Learning about cultural self-identity showed a common miseducation within the Black/ Pan-African community globally.
As the youthful teen matured, she held onto an idea to properly document cultural identity and to educate people on culture. A “resource” concept gradually emerged from this idea; and in 2019, The Pan-African Library Project, or The P.A.L. Project, was born.
What Is The P.A.L Project
The P.A.L. Project is a resource platform dedicated to restoring strength in the cultural identity of the global Black/ Pan-African community. Our hub gathers resources to support cultural immersion, cultural education, and cultural preservation.
The Black/ Pan-African community is one of the most diverse populations globally, with a large list of sub-community groups. Generally, the Black/ Pan-African community is one of the most at-risk cultural populations through the impacts of manipulated history and misrepresentation in media.
In the community, less official cultural resources are available. Limited cultural resources sabotage the access of the community to authentic cultural knowledge. Less resources also means there is a reduced amount of opportunities to share the thriving culture.
The beauty in our diversity faces the risk of extinction if nothing is done to promote cultural education, especially to our young ones. It is only through having access to each other and our stories that we can truly build a community with the foundation of empathy. Having this foundation will in turn help facilitate further development of the global Black/ Pan-African community.
We will embrace the fullness of our own stories.
