Despite centuries having passed since their ancestors were forcibly taken from West and Central Africa, African-Americans have maintained an enduring emotional and cultural connection with the continent. That bond, shaped by history, politics and identity, is witnessing a renewed surge in recent years, driven in part by DNA ancestry testing and actively encouraged by several African governments.
Historically, this transatlantic relationship has taken many forms. Liberia, Africa’s oldest republic, was established in 1822 by freed Black American slaves, while Ghana, after gaining independence in 1957, attracted prominent Black intellectuals and artists from the United States. Global figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali visited Ghana, and Guinea became home to Black Panther leader Stokely Carmichael. Though this connection has fluctuated over time, it has regained momentum in the past decade.
A growing number of African-American celebrities have sought and obtained citizenship from African nations, often citing ancestral roots and a sense of homecoming. Singer Ciara has become a citizen of Benin, while rapper Ludacris and actor Samuel L Jackson have been granted Gabonese nationality. Actors Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors have acquired citizenship in Guinea, and music legend Stevie Wonder has received Ghanaian nationality. Most recently, popular US-based content creator IShowSpeed was approved for a Ghanaian passport following a brief stop during his high-profile African tour.
These citizenship ceremonies are often elaborate, accompanied by official events, cultural tours and widespread social media coverage. Posting images from her Guinean citizenship ceremony, Meagan Good described the moment as historic, saying it represented more than formal recognition and symbolised a reconnection with Afro-descendant roots. African leaders have echoed similar sentiments, framing these moves as part of a broader pan-African vision. At Stevie Wonder’s citizenship ceremony in 2024, Ghana’s former president Nana Akufo-Addo described the gesture as a reaffirmation of global African unity.
Ghana has long positioned itself as a hub for pan-Africanism, allowing people of African descent to apply for nationality for over a decade and launching its high-profile “Year of Return” campaign in 2019. According to diaspora groups, more than 1,000 African-Americans have relocated to Ghana over the past ten years. Other countries, including Benin, have followed suit, seeing opportunities in tourism, investment and international visibility.
Experts note that economic considerations are a significant driver behind these policies. Governments hope celebrity endorsements and social media exposure will encourage other members of the African diaspora, particularly Black Americans with growing spending power, to visit, invest or even settle. Benin, for instance, has invested heavily in heritage tourism, including memorial projects in former slave ports such as Ouidah, aiming to turn painful history into cultural and economic opportunity.
However, the trend has also sparked criticism within host countries. Some citizens argue that celebrities appear to bypass complex and costly citizenship processes faced by ordinary applicants. In Ghana, the swift approval of IShowSpeed’s passport drew objections, prompting officials to clarify that legal procedures would still apply, albeit with some flexibility.
There are also concerns that celebrity citizenships could be symbolic and short-lived, amounting to little more than ceremonial gestures. Authorities, however, insist that citizenship is not transactional and does not come with promotional obligations. Some celebrities have returned for cultural events or spoken of long-term engagement, while supporters argue that even symbolic acts carry soft power benefits.
As Benin prepares to establish a dedicated agency for naturalising Afro-descendants and Ghana temporarily pauses its citizenship applications to streamline procedures, the long-term impact of these initiatives remains uncertain. Yet advocates believe that welcoming prominent members of the diaspora back to Africa represents a tangible step toward turning pan-African ideals into action, signalling a shift from rhetoric to meaningful engagement.
