Black Gold of the Sun: Searching for Home in Africa and Beyond

Intimate and beautifully written, Black Gold of the Sun is a compelling memoir that chronicles a man’s journey to his ancestral home and to the hidden keeps of his heritage.

In 2001, at the age of thirty-three, Ekow Eshun–born in London to African-born parents–embarks on a trip to Ghana in search of his roots, and in this rich narrative he evokes both the physical and emotional aspects of his travels. Eshun makes his way to Accra, Ghana’s cosmopolitan capital city; to the storied slave forts of Elmina; to the historic warrior kingdom of Asante. He reflects on earlier pilgrims who followed the same path–W. E. B. DuBois, Richard Wright, Malcolm X–and on the millions of slaves shipped to the West from the Ghanaian coast. He recalls the racially charged years of his youth, and he considers the paradoxes and possibilities in contemporary Britain for someone like himself. Finally, he uncovers a long-held secret about his lineage that will compel him to question everything he knows about himself and about where he comes from.

Written with exquisite particularity of place and mind, and with rare immediacy and candor, Black Gold of the Sun tells a story of identity, belonging, and unexpected hope.