AR, Ghana

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AR, was born in Ghana and lived in its capital, Accra, until 2003. His dad had passed away and he lived there with several siblings and his mom.

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After he finished high school he moved to the U.S. with a younger brother:  he moved to Kentucky to study Clinical Psychology, while his brother went to study in a different state.

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After his mom at home passed away, AR moved to California where he lived and studied until he decided to change his major to Cybersecurity, and moved to Washington state to study at Tacoma Community College.

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He left his country in search of better opportunities for growth. On one hand he would like to go back, have a business there, on the other hand he has lived half of his life in the US, feels at home here and Ghana is now a different place from what it was when he left as a teen.

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Occupation: Cybersecurity and network support specialist

Family in the US (from Ghana): While AR has several distant relatives in the US, mostly on the East coast, the only close relative also in the country is his younger brother.

Languages: English, and several Ghanaian dialects, from his mother and father’s sides of the family: Adangbe, Akan and Fante, Ga, and Dagbani.

Favorite pastimes: playing pool and soccer

Favorite music: Ghanaian highlife from 1930-2000 (Osibesa, E.T.Mensah, and Ampedu to name a few).

Language challenges: None. English is one of Ghana’s official languages

Could do without: The Biggest challenge of being an immigrant and man of color is constantly having to prove yourself, being often treated as if you are not good enough (skin color and accent play a role in people’s perspective of one’s worth).

Favorite expressions: English “A Word to the Wise is enough”

                                     Akan “Sankofa”: in order to move forward in life you need to know where you came from and learn from your past.

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Objects:

• Ghanaian Copper and Brass bracelet: The metals are local and copper is believed to be humanity’s first metal (found in Sumerian and Egyptian metallurgy circa 3900 BCE)

• Shell and leather pendant necklace: AR used to have long dreadlocks and the shell was embedded in one of the locks, and used to be a way to be recognized in a crowd. When he cut his hair he decided to keep the shell as a reminder of his past and the connection to his country of birth

• Kufi Cap: is part of the traditional menswear and goes with any West African traditional attire. It can also represent one’s faith as a religious outfit accessory

• Traditional Ghanaian smock: The smock is made from the fabric called “Gonja cloth” from Northern Ghana. The smock, which is Ghana’s national dress, is made of hand-loomed strips.

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I apologize in advance for the imperfect pronunciation in the recordings