American actress and model Gabrielle Union has shared a deeply emotional account of her visit to Ghana in 2022.
According to her, retracing the footsteps of her ancestors was a moment she will never forget.
Speaking on Reclaiming with Monica, she recounted travelling to a place known as the River of No Return in Ghana, believed to have been used during the transatlantic slave trade to wash and prepare enslaved Africans before they were shipped. The visit was intense, both physically and spiritually, she said, helping her to better understand the pain and strength of those who came before her.
Their guide told them that enslaved people were forced to walk distances comparable to the journey from New York to Florida.
“We were in Ghana at the River of No Return where they would, you know, after basically marching our ancestors the distance from New York to Florida, they would put them in this river to clean them up and they’d, you know, lather them in grease to create the appearance of good health, to get the highest dollar,” she recalled.
Gabrielle described a frightening moment when her mother, in her late 70s, collapsed as they made their way toward the river.
“As we were walking down towards this river, my mom falls out. And my mom is late 70s, and I’m thinking, oh, this is it. My mom just died. And everyone’s, and this is all, you know, the cameras were rolling. So this is all being caught,” she said.
In that moment, she said she clearly heard her late grandmother’s voice: “She’s all right. She’s all right.” Her mother revived and insisted: “Take me to the river.”
Gabrielle also recalled a striking, almost supernatural moment involving her husband, retired NBA star Dwyane Wade.
“I kind of had lost track of where my husband was. And it was this beautiful sunny day, it was hot, beautiful sunny day. And my husband is in the river, and I just hear him scream. And I look over and his arms are outstretched, like Christ. And the sky opens up, and it is downpour out of nowhere. And it was the most cleansing, it was like something out of a movie,” she said. She added that the sudden rain felt like a spiritual cleansing, bringing everyone to tears.
“Luckily, we caught it. And he’s just standing there and he’s being, like, cleansed, if you will. But everyone was very, very emotional,” she added.
Ghana’s Year of Return, and Gabrielle’s Journey
Ghana’s ‘Year of Return’ was formally launched by President Nana Akufo-Addo in September 2018 in Washington, D.C., to mark 400 years since the first recorded enslaved Africans landed in Virginia, United States. The initiative invited people of African descent, especially in the diaspora to visit, invest in, and reconnect with Ghana.
The year 2019 held particular significance as the symbolic Year of Return; the government and diaspora groups coordinated concerts, heritage tours, cultural events and educational programmes. Since then, Ghana has continued with the “Beyond the Return” initiative (2020-2030), focusing more on sustained investment, cultural exchange, and diaspora engagement.
It was during this broader movement of reconnection that Gabrielle Union visited Ghana in 2022. In her My Journey to 50 documentary series, she and her group toured key historical sites such as the Assin Manso River, the Memorial Wall of Return, and the Salaga Slave Market.
While in Ghana, Gabrielle and Dwyane Wade also attended the enstoolment of Diallo Sumbry, a co-founder of Ghana’s Year of Return campaign, as a tourism ambassador. They visited educational centres, engaged in cultural and heritage tours, and emphasised healing, ancestral reconnection, and community building.
Gabrielle’s Ghana visit occurred as part of her 50th birthday journey across Africa, a trip she described as simultaneously transformative and homecoming.
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