Nicholas McLeod

"Practicing Pan-Africanism: West Indians, Governance, and Nation Building In Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana 1951-1966" unpacks how post-colonial Ghana functioned as a Pan-African state by examining the extensive influences of West Indians on the political development of Kwame Nkrumah and Ghana’s nation-building process. This project examines Ghanaian independence as the next phase of the Pan-African movement, and contends that West Indians profoundly shaped the development of post-colonial Ghana in the realms of political strategy, economic development, state-owned enterprises, and Pan-African media. It also highlights fundamental questions about contrasting notions of identity, diaspora, and the realities of governance that emerged following Ghana’s independence.