Field Notes, Day 6

W.E.B Dubois Center, Raymond Archer - Editor of the Inquisitor and CEO of Colour Planet Ltd

Today we walked through the former home of W.E.B. Dubois, which has been turned into the W.E.B Dubois Center. The compound gifted to Dubois by Kwame Nkrumah has become a museum. His library, dining area, guest area, bathroom, and bedroom now holds photographs and exhibits containing artifacts about not only his life, but of the plight of Pan-Africanists as a whole. We learned about Pan-Africanists around the world and there was even a wall dedicated to black women who have furthered progress - like Maya Angelou and Ida B. Wells. Photos of leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., Patrice Lobumba, Malcom X, and even Barack Obama are displayed. We learned that W.E.B. Dubois was descended from slaves on his mother’s side (his father was french) and although he traced his maternal lineage to West Africa is is uncertain exactly where - but, he adopted Ghana and officially became Ghanaian. A scholar and an advocate for the black diaspora and Pan-African thought, W.E.B Dubois was close to Nkrumah. The two men embraced one another’s ideologies, based on African unity, racial equality, modernity and progress. We walked into his bedroom, where Dubois passed away in his sleep. His bathroom featured a sunk-in tub, and there were gifts from the Chinese delegation on his walls with photos of him making Mao Zedong laugh - a rarity. Handwritten notes and letters, along with a copy of his publication “The Crisis” were in display cases. We learned that his second wife, Shirley wrote a biography about her husband before moving from Ghana to Egypt contracting breast cancer and dying in China after going there to seek treatment. Shirley was cremated by the Chinese government and her ashes were returned to Ghana, where Dubois body remains (moved to the site from its original placement at Christiansbourg castle). Both Dubois and Shirley were scholars and authors. Dubois many academic achievements are evident through his many graduation robes and honors in cases, and the library houses the many books published by the two. Dubois and Shirley’s former summer hut now houses their remains. Chiefs stools surround Dubois grave (which is covered in colorful flower wreaths) and the pot of Shirley’s ashes, indicating the respect Ghanaians have for Dubois - who saw him as a real leader. The ceiling of the hut resembles a spider’s web. A spider is seen as very smart and wise, and it also refers to Dubois first three initials “W.E.B.”

Following the W.E.B Dubois Center, the three journalism researchers went to visit Raymond Archer, the editor of the Inquisitor and CEO of the publishing company Colour Planet Ltd. He spoke to us about how he got his start as an investigative reporter who stumbled upon journalism. We were able to ask him about how he got his start in journalism and he shared how it was something he actually just stumbled upon. He always struggled with math and he had a friend who was attending the Ghanaian Institute of Journalism, and he would always drive his friend to school. That connection to the GIJ led Raymond to develop an interest in the field. Raymond’s work eventually became honored first by the West African Journalists Association - because he had to wait a year to join the Ghanaian Journalists Association - and then the GJA. He told us stories about how he worked hard to set himself apart from those in his field even from the beginning. The Inquirer is often known for uncovering pieces that other newspapers did not get. He conveyed the importance of investigative reporting. Once he read a story about the Ghanaian President flying member of Parliament on the new national jet for an international visit. The question he asked himself was, “When did we get a national jet?” Raymond spent months investigating the funding that was sketchily obtained of the jet and the proper approvals that were not obtained. It was revealed that the President’s office purchased the jet from foreign powers without obtaining the proper approval needed from Parliament and members of Parliament were subsequently enjoying rides on it. This story ran from months after The Inquisitor broke it, and the government attempted to return the jet but could not - no one would ride it anymore because it was tainted with corruption. Raymond also told us about the effort he puts into being disciplined, because his line of work demands full alertness at any given moment. Raymond went on to speak about the weight that journalists put on objectivity and how he views this as a hindrance. He believes that focusing too much on objectivity keeps journalists from telling stories correctly, because they try too hard to tell both sides of the story and fail to properly convey that certain occurrences and sides need to be emphasized or focused on. He says that as someone who has worked as a reporter, editor, and publisher the focus should be on telling the facts, even if the perspectives conveyed in the story are subjective. If it is something that is important, it should be converted, and what journalists should be concerned with is whether or not what was said was actually said, if what happened actually happened, if the facts presented are factual, and if everything can be confirmed - that is fairness, not conscious chopping of the story or including superfluous information for the sake of objectivity. In lieu of the election, he says that Ghanaian newspapers do not officially endorse candidates, but everyone who reads the papers or consumes the media inherently knows what side each outlet is on.