With a 2-1 win in the inaugural Capital City Africa Cup, D.C. United defeated Ghanaian champions Medeama SC. The victory marked the conclusion of the Capital City Africa Week Festival, a series of events that went beyond soccer-friendly activities.
The Capital City Africa Week Festival, in its first year, featured events at the Ghanaian embassy, a panel at Howard University’s Blackburn Center, and a fashion pop-up at the five-star Rosewood Washington, D.C. It culminated with the match at Audi Field, D.C. United’s home.
Paxton Baker, founder of marketing agency Liquid Soul, co-created the Capital City Africa Week Festival and Capital City Africa Cup. The events allowed Baker, a minority owner of the Washington Nationals, to merge his passion for sports with his goal of introducing Americans to African culture.
“It would be nice to have something with African roots in the United States because there’s plenty of Americans, particularly African Americans who have a solid love for Africa, but have never been given the opportunity, or never took the opportunity to actually go to Africa,” said Baker. “Well, let’s see if we can bring Africa to Washington, D.C.”
When selecting Ghana as the inaugural visiting country, Baker found a ready partner.
In recent years, Ghana has prioritized building relationships with African Americans and others in the African diaspora. The Year of Return, Ghana 2019, was an initiative by the Ghanaian government and the D.C.-based Adinkra Group. This campaign aimed to encourage those of African descent to settle and invest in Ghana, marking 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived in Jamestown, Virginia.
Ada Anagho Brown, a D.C.-area native of Cameroon and founder of Roots To Glory, recently guided 25 families on a real estate tour in Ghana. While at the Ghana Business Forum at Howard University’s Blackburn Center, she questioned, “We are in the beginning stages of this process so I want to know what’s the track, what can I tell them? Once you get your house built can you be in the track?”
Akwasi Agyeman, CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority, explained that while Ghana offers potential residents a residency status, it usually takes about five years from when an individual shows property or business ownership in Ghana to acquire citizenship but also urged Brown to contact The Ministry of the Interior.
“The last few years, through “The Year Return” and “Beyond the Return” we’ve gotten 105 [applicants their expedited citizenship], and the year before that it was 126,” Agyeman said at the forum.
Ghanaian business representatives also participated in the week’s events.
Elaine Mensah, CEO of Showroom Etc., showcased her client, The Lotte Accra, at the Rosewood D.C. pop-up. “I am a native Washingtonian, I am first generation, my parents are originally from Ghana,” said Mensah. “I like to say I have the best of both worlds, one foot there, one foot here.”
The entrepreneur expressed her excitement about D.C.’s growing appreciation for her heritage. “I remember being African in high school was not “a thing” so to see the evolution of African fashion, African luxury, just being African in general, is such a beautiful thing to see.”
Kofi Asamoah Okyere, business development manager for 02Squared Travels based in Accra, attended the week’s events and distributed materials for the Ministry of Tourism.
“We want Americans to come to Ghana to experience the culture, to experience the weather, to experience all the beautiful tourist attractions in Ghana,” said Okyere. “We are here to promote Ghana as a country and [also tell] the beautiful story.”
Baker plans to rotate the visiting nations for the Cup and Capital City Africa week to enhance D.C. residents’ understanding of Africa. “Black people are the core of our DNA, whether we know it or not, is Africa,” said Baker. “Most of the other cultures celebrate theirs and so this is an opportunity to celebrate ours unapologetically.”