Walking the Paved Path

Fellows spent our final full day in Ghana tracing the legacies of Kwame Nkrumah and Dr. W.E.B. DuBois.

In his role as the first president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah used his platform to stress the importance of political, economic, and social sovereignty for people of African descent. At Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, Fellows learned more about his ascent to power and how his approach to Pan-Africanism paved the way for us to be on this very trip.

In the 1960s, Kwame Nkrumah invited Dr. W.E.B. DuBois to Ghana to work on The Encyclopedia of Africa, a series of books chronicling Africa’s vast contributions to the world. Fellows spotted the inaugural books of the series, as well as intimate photos and manuscripts on display at the W.E.B. DuBois Centre which is undergoing a powerful remodel! Learn more about the renovation project here.

Fellows’ Field Notes

Fellows completed an anonymous survey as a final reflection to our Ghana Capstone. Here are some of their closing reflections:

“I came to Ghana to find myself and I believe I found more than what I was looking for. From purpose, inspiration, motivation, I gained a new perspective on life [and it] couldn’t have come at a better time.”

“I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be apart of this cohort. It has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will stay with me forever.”

“I've been in education 25 years. As much as it will impact my work-self, my personal-self was most impacted, so no matter where I am, this experience goes with me. I can't un-whatever it!”

Field Favorites

A Glimpse Behind the Scenes

Founder’s Footnotes

Goodbye Ghana. Hello Legacy.

The Tubman Project is a 9-month fellowship. As a cohort, Fellows engage in 1:1 coaching, bi-monthly cohort meetings, a Community Sendoff, and asynchronous preparation modules, all before heading to Ghana.

After their Ghana Capstone, Fellows return to Chicago to design and execute a Legacy Project which addresses a pressing challenge within their school or community. The Legacy Project is to be completed by November, when Fellows will officially become Tubman alumni.

In order to complete their Legacy Projects, Fellows choose one stakeholder group to focus on; this could be students, teachers, administrators, staff, families, local neighborhoods, or cultural communities.

Fellows begin by investigating the root causes of a persistent issue, assessing their scope of influence (Self), identifying co-conspirators (Synergy), interrogating the systems that propel the issue (Systems), and then implementing a solution that can outlive their tenure (Service). You can check out our planning guide here.

The insight, inspiration, and connections Fellows made during our Capstone were designed to strengthen ideation around their Legacy Projects. Now, they’ll move from theory to action in order to transform education in Chicago.

The future is bright! 😎

Coming next…a final word on how you can stay connected to the work (no- I won’t be asking for money)!