Correction: A previous version of this story identified the program “A2Mend” as “8 to Men”, it has now been corrected.
Eight faculty and staff members were chosen by Superintendent President Mike Munoz to embark on a trip to Ghana, or as attendees have described it, the motherland in Sept. 2022.
Initially, LBCC representatives were told to go to Ghana with an open mind and not go in with any expectations or assumptions but to embrace it and accept it for what it is.
With that, one of the first changes trip attendees Angela Fowlkes noticed was how different she felt about her physical body while in Ghana.
“It was life-transforming for me. It made me love myself more. When I was with the natives they were very simple people. They are not vain, they are not into vanity. When I went, I forgot my brush and I was looking for mirrors because I was so self-conscious about my appearance. I realized that I was able to relax and accept myself. It was more of a journey of self-acceptance for me,” said Fowlkes.
Fowlkes continued in depth about her innate feelings of insecurity and how she overcame it through mindfulness and reassurance from the Ghana native’s way of life and culture.
“When you see the picture of me in the annual report you see that I just have on jeans and a shirt because I have never been exposed to any African traditional clothes like head wraps or anything. So I felt very self-conscious and out of place,” revealed Fowlkes.
“My hair was gray and I didn’t feel good about myself, but once I got there and got around the native people I realized they are the proudest, most beautiful people. They don’t get up in the morning every day and compare themselves to Western beauty standards and society, just me being natural is enough and I have never been this happy in my entire life,” she added.
This trip was commenced by the A2Mend program as a way for LBCC staff members to experience unique African culture and gain knowledge and insight into the Ghana lifestyle, food, societal norms, tradition and most of all historic revelations and history behind the infamous slave trades and colonizations.Â
The A2Mend program is an African American male program that consists of different community colleges from the state of California to get the opportunity to visit Ghana and learn about the education systems, culture and values.Â
Fowlkes felt honored to attend as an LBCC representative and felt the need to gather knowledge on African culture, ethics and societal customs to instill in African American students at LBCC.
“This was the catalyst for me to accept and love myself. When I came back, that’s what I wanted to instill in the students here,” added Fowlkes.
Fowlkes also mentioned the Cape Coast slave dungeon which she and seven other members visited for educational purposes and to experience how grim and terrifying the conditions were for Ghana slaves during the 1660s.
Fowlkes reflected on how being in the slave dungeon was heavy on her heart and traumatic for her as an African American.
“We went to the Cape Coast dungeon and were shown the trails and paths the slaves were led down. When I got to the dungeon I was a tourist, I went in with a tourist’s eyes. I was so excited to take pictures of everything. When I came out of the dungeon I came out through the lens of a slave. It took a toll on my body physically,” revealed Fowlkes.
“I had to be alone on the bus and it stripped me of my humanity. They took us to the next place and the next place each time it got worse and worse. They gave you the visualization and the smells from 400 years ago were still there,” she added.
Close friend of Fowlkes and financial aid advisor Michelle Bowen had immense praise as well as insightful observations on Fowlkes’ attitude and character after her return from the Ghana trip. She was even enticed to go herself.
“I am one of Angela’s colleagues, both Angela and I have worked for the last several years at the level of specialist, but I’ve noticed since Angelas’s return from Ghana that not only her mood changed but her actual physical appearance changed, a glow, a drive that she had since her trip. It’s actually something that’s inspired me to possibly take a trip myself and follow her lead,” Bowen said.