Internationally acclaimed author, anthropologist, researcher and historian Dr. Runoko Rashidi has decided to donate his archive of collections to the Pan African Heritage Museum in Ghana. Announcing this on his Facebook page on Monday, Dr. Rashidi noted “I have thousands and thousands of original photos from virtually every major Egyptian collection in the world and I am always looking for ways to share them.”
Dr. Rashidi, who is now admitted to the 13-member curatorial board and the 25-member Academic Council of the PAHW Museum, encouraged Pan Africanists and people of African descent to contribute to the PAHW’s historic museum project. “I am making plans to have my photo archives installed in the brand new Pan African Heritage World Museum in Ghana,” Dr. Rashidi said.
Dr. Rashidi will hold webinar series from January to March 2021 to show 1200 of his best original photos from museums of Europe and the USA, as well as the temples and monuments of the ancient Nile Valley. Dr. Rashidi’s work focuses on Global African Presence – that is, Africa outside of Africa before and after enslavement. The PAHW curatorial board member has worked with distinguished global scholars, including Ivan Van Sertima, John Henrik Clarke, Asa Hillard, Edward Scobie, John Jackson, Jan Carew and Yosef ben-Jochannan.
The Executive Chairman of PAHW, Honorable Kojo Yankah expressed great appreciation for the donation towards the Museum project. He said, “we are happy for this donation from Dr. Rashidi which will add up to the variety of collections in this unique museum complex at the Pomadze Hills in Ghana.”
“We are on our way to creating the biggest heritage museum in Africa, and we are looking forward to more of such donations from across the world,” he added.
The Pan African Heritage World Museum project has received endorsements from the African Union Commission (AU), Government of Ghana (GOG), Association of African Universities (AAU), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), among others.
The Pan African Heritage World Museum is an international non-profit, non governmental organization which seeks to create an environment for people of African descent and all others to discover and experience the true history of the Origins of Humanity, the Development of Cultures and the Great Civilizations of the Nile Valley up to the Present that influenced the past, informs the present and will shape the future, serving as an inspiration for generations to come.
Work on the Museum is expected to be completed in December 2022 for commissioning in 2023.