From Lenox Avenue to Accra, Black Stories Matter

Etu Evans Celebrity Fashion and Interior Designer and Creative Director for Harlem World Magazine prepares to tell his story on a heavyweight panel composed of industry titans on September 30, 2020. It will be insightful, informative, and ignite a spark in you to explore the possibilities and promise for collaboration in Ghana.

Etu says, “Your story contains the medicine someone needs to be healed.” Additionally, he concedes, “Africa is the stitch of civilization and holds the very hem of our culture. Our words are threads and our stories become the tapestry of our legacy.” His wish is a future tour from Harlem to Ghana in collaboration with Harlem World Magazine, The Evans Guild, The Bridge Zone and E.L.Entertainment.

‘Beyond the Return’ is a 10-year initiative with the theme ‘A Decade of African Renaissance.’ The project builds on the success of the ‘Year of Return, Ghana 2019,’ which was a major landmark spiritual and birth-right journey inviting the Global African family home and abroad to Ghana to mark 400 years of the arrival of the first documented enslaved Africans in Jamestown, ‘Beyond The Return’ will grow Ghana’s tourism industry, showcase its investment potential, and solidify its global diaspora engagement programs.

The Beyond the Return initiative has provided the rare opportunity for Ghanian and African-American creatives to explore the many possibilities for collaboration in the areas of film, television, fashion, gaming, animation, music, and more.

This masterclass is the brainchild of Prince Anthony Bart-Appiah a Royal and grandson of the QueenMother of Akwamu traditional area and the CEO of TheBridgezone (www.thebridgezone.org) – an organization which seeks to bridge the gap between Africa and African Americans through collaborations and partnership. The theme for the masterclass – Black stories matter will be a maiden event that represents the Beyond the Return initiative for Ghana.

Partners and collaborators for the event are The Ghana Tourism Authority, Creative Arts Council, and Professor Eleanor Earl (Hampton University) of E.L. Earl Entertainment, who is also moderating the panel discussion from the United States.

C.E.O. of TheBridgeZone, Anthony Bart Appiah, says, “It is important for Black people to tell their own stories. We want to help bridge the gap in creativity between Ghana and the United States.”

The panel will begin at noon in the US and 4 pm in Ghana.