Good evening, family.
What a day. What a moment. What a journey.
If you had told me a few years ago that we would be standing here today—on our own land, in our own community, inside our own building, I might’ve smiled politely and said, “Word?,” but quietly thought, “Let’s just get through the paperwork first.”
Because only God knows… the trials and tribulations to get here have been no joke. We’ve faced the kind of challenges that make you question your sanity, your stamina, and your cell signal. But through it all – by grace, discipline, community, and a whole lot of stubborn faith – we’re here.
So before anything else, I want to thank my family. For standing with me when the vision looked like nothing but dirt and a prayer. I want to thank every single donor, supporter, and community member who gave – whether it was your money, your sweat, your expertise, or your prayers. You are part of this foundation. You are the bricks and the heartbeat of this center.
The opening of the Nyame Bekyere Community Center is not the end of something. It’s the beginning.
This building is the seed.
But the harvest – the true harvest – depends on what we do now. Because the real work begins here.
The real work begins with engaging the people.
The real work begins with engaging the community.
The real work begins with maintaining this space, so that it always reflects the pride, the purpose, and the power of who we are.
And the real work begins with how we develop our children’s minds. How we nurture their creativity, their discipline, their identity, and their connection to this land and each other.
Because it’s one thing to build a building.
It’s another thing to build a people.
This center stands as a living testimony to what the historical African Diaspora can do when we come home. When we transition and reintegrate into Ghanaian society with intention, with focus, with humility, and with cultural protocol and understanding.
This is what it looks like when we put ego aside and replace it with purpose.
This is what it looks like when we put individual goals aside and replace them with collective growth.
This center says: we don’t just talk about Pan-African unity, we’re building it.
To the people of Nyame Bekyere – this center is yours.
It’s not a monument. It’s a movement.
It’s not just a building. It’s a beacon.
Use it. Use it for meetings, for classes, for culture, for business, for the youth, for the elders.
Because time waits for no one.
And if we don’t use it, trust me, the surrounding communities will. But either way, it will be used. So let’s make sure that use reflects our values, our unity, and our vision in this community.
To my brothers and sisters of the historical African Diaspora who are here – this is also your charge.
We have been coming to Ghana for decades. African Americans have been here 30, 40, even 50 years and yet we have not built an institution specifically for us to have a space to call our own.
Not just a hangout spot. Not just a social club.
But an institution – one that helps our people land safely, integrate properly, and thrive collectively.
That is why we created the Black Star Resource and Repatriation Center and now, we extend that mission through the Nyame Bekyere Community Center.
This is not charity. This is not luck. This is an organization.
This is what happens when we follow the blueprint left by Kwame Nkrumah, by George Padmore, by Amy Ashwood Garvey, by Marcus Mosiah Garvey by W.E.B. Du Bois – those who believed in a united, self-reliant Africa, built by Africans everywhere.
If we truly believe in their vision…
If we truly want to carry their torch…
Then we must be willing to do the work!
We must put our minds together.
We must put our resources together.
We must put our wallets together.
Because together, there is nothing we cannot build.
And make no mistake—this is just the beginning.
We are not done.
We are just getting started.
We are entering the next phase of the Nyame Bekyere Community Development Plan.
We have business offices coming.
We have a Nike Art Gallery coming.
We have a senior high school, a two-year entrepreneurial and arts college, building supply stores, a cassava factory and eco-luxury affordable homes on the way.
We are building a complete ecosystem. One that sustains itself, empowers its people, and leaves a legacy that cannot be erased.
So tonight, let this building remind us what’s possible when faith meets function.
Let it remind us that our ancestors dreamed of this moment.
Let it remind us that we are the continuation of their dream.
But most importantly—let it remind us that this work is ongoing.
It doesn’t stop when the ribbon is cut. It begins now.
So let’s celebrate—but let’s also commit.
Commit to showing up.
Commit to maintaining this place.
Commit to each other.
Commit to the vision of an Africa that thrives because her children came home and got to work.
Because this right here…this right here is not the end.
It’s the beginning.
Thank you.
Medase
