To the Founding 1,750 and everyone who has joined since:
Thank you.
This petition is still climbing. We have now reached 1,753 supporters, with the next Change.org goal of 2,500 coming closer every day.
That means we are only 747 signatures away.
Please sign, comment, and share the petition again today:
https://www.change.org/ghanacitizenship
Every signature matters because this is not just about one fee, one ceremony, or one administrative process. This is about restoring Ghana’s citizenship pathway for the Historic Diaspora to its proper foundation:
Reparative citizenship in principle and in practice.
WHAT IS REPARATIVE CITIZENSHIP?
Reparative citizenship means citizenship is treated as restoration, not charity. It treats repatriation as repair, not revenue.
It means the descendants of those violently removed through kidnapping, enslavement, family separation, and forced displacement are not treated as ordinary applicants seeking a favor.
It means Ghana recognizes the Historic Diaspora not merely as tourists, investors, visitors, or applicants, but as a people whose ancestral connection was violently interrupted and whose pathway to repatriation should be fair, transparent, accessible, and grounded in justice.
That is why this petition must continue to spread. The more people who sign and share, the harder it becomes to reduce reparative citizenship to ceremony without substance.
Please forward the petition now to at least three people who should understand this issue:
https://www.change.org/ghanacitizenship
PRESIDENT MAHAMA DEFINED THE PRINCIPLE IN 2016
President John Dramani Mahama named this principle clearly at the 28 December 2016 citizenship ceremony.
He described the enslavement trade as:
“The most evil act ever perpetrated by humans on other humans.”
He acknowledged Ghana’s particular moral responsibility, saying:
“Ghana has more slave forts than any other country in Africa.”
He described the citizenship ceremony as a reversal of historical rupture:
“Today we are here to turn that Door of No Return into a door of return.”
He then defined citizenship as restoration, not charity:
“I have the honor and privilege to restore to you your full rights as Ghanaian and African citizens.”
And he made the moral principle unmistakable:
“I deserve no thanks or praise, because I’m giving back to you what rightfully belong to you.”
Most directly, he said:
“It’s your right. You’re Ghanaians.”
That is reparative citizenship.
Not a favor.
Not a luxury process.
Not a temporary ceremony.
Not a pay-to-belong arrangement.
A right restored.
Read and watch President Mahama’s full 28 December 2016 speech on reparative citizenship here:
If these words still mean what they meant in 2016, then they must be restored in policy, procedure, and lived reality.
Restore reparative citizenship in principle and in practice.
Please share the petition with anyone who believes Ghana must restore that principle:
https://www.change.org/ghanacitizenship
REPARATIVE CITIZENSHIP OR EXTRACTIVE CITIZENSHIP?
This is the choice before Ghana now.
Reparative citizenship treats repatriation as repair.
Extractive citizenship treats repatriation as revenue.
Reparative citizenship says:
“I’m giving back to you what rightfully belong to you.”
Extractive citizenship says: pay thousands of dollars per person before the door can open.
Reparative citizenship says:
“It’s your right. You’re Ghanaians.”
Extractive citizenship turns that right into an expensive, uncertain, and exclusionary process.
That is why this petition matters.
We are calling on Ghana to reject extractive citizenship and restore reparative citizenship in principle and in practice.
Please sign, comment, and share:
https://www.change.org/ghanacitizenship
REPARATIVE CITIZENSHIP WAS THE RULE FROM 2016 TO 2025
From 2016 through the citizenship ceremonies that followed, the spirit of the process was reparative. The ceremonies were not perfect, and there were always issues that needed improvement, but the foundation was clear:
Citizenship was framed as restoration.
There was no GHS 25,000 citizenship application fee.
DNA was not used as a permanent exclusionary barrier.
And even if DNA was reportedly removed from the most recent ceremony, the deeper issue remains: without real constituency-mandated seats at the table, requirements can be introduced, removed, or reintroduced without the Historic Diaspora having binding representation in decisions that directly affect our repatriation, citizenship, and collective future.
That is why representation is not symbolic.
Representation is how reparative citizenship is protected in practice.
The process was connected to Ghana’s public language of repatriation, repair, and Pan-Afrikan responsibility.
That is why the 2026 process is so troubling.
The recently concluded 2026 citizenship process should be treated as a departure from that reparative tradition, not accepted as the new standard. It introduced or emphasized barriers that are out of alignment with the reparative citizenship tradition established from 2016 to 2025.
A process that requires thousands of dollars per person, exclusionary barriers, unclear timelines, limited windows, no clear appeals process, and no real constituency-mandated representation does not reflect reparative citizenship.
It reflects administrative exclusion.
That is why we need more signatures, more comments, more shares, and more organizations standing publicly with this petition.
The aim is clear:
Restore reparative citizenship in principle and in practice.
Share the petition again:
https://www.change.org/ghanacitizenship
RESTORE REPARATIVE CITIZENSHIP IN PRINCIPLE AND IN PRACTICE
If Ghana says the Historic Diaspora is welcome, the process must reflect welcome.
If Ghana says repatriation is repair, the process must reflect repair.
If Ghana says the Historic Diaspora is part of the national family, then the pathway to repatriation must not be built around prohibitive fees, sudden requirements, and exclusionary barriers.
We are not asking Ghana to abandon its own stated vision.
We are asking Ghana to restore it.
WHAT WE ARE CALLING FOR
This petition calls for practical steps to restore reparative citizenship in principle and in practice:
Suspend and review the GHS 25,000 citizenship application fee
Permanently remove DNA as an exclusionary barrier. Some say DNA was removed for the most recent ceremony, but without real constituency-mandated seats, there is no guarantee that it will not return in a future process.
Ensure real, constituency-mandated seats for the Historic Diaspora, so decisions are not made about us without us. Representation must be accountable to the constituency itself, not reduced to symbolic lifetime appointments, individual gatekeepers, or state-selected representatives.
Establish a clear, year-round pathway to reparative citizenship
Require at least 90 days’ notice for major changes in fees, requirements, vetting dates, documents, or deadlines
Publish a clear appeals and review process
Ground the process in reparative justice, not exclusion
Please sign, comment, and share:
https://www.change.org/ghanacitizenship
LEAVE A COMMENT
Tell the authorities why you signed.
Use the phrase:
“Restore reparative citizenship in principle and in practice.”
Your comment matters because it shows that this is not just a number on a petition. It is a living demand from real people who understand what repatriation, repair, and belonging must mean.
COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR NETWORKS:
“The petition for fair Historic Diaspora reparative citizenship, representation, and inclusion in Ghana has reached 1,753 supporters and is still climbing. President Mahama said in 2016 that citizenship for the Historic Diaspora was the restoration of what rightfully belonged to us. From 2016 to 2025, reparative citizenship was the rule. The 2026 process should be treated as the exception, not the new standard. The aim is clear: restore reparative citizenship in principle and in practice. Please sign, comment, and share: https://www.change.org/ghanacitizenship
MEDIA AND ORGANIZATIONAL INQUIRIES
For media interviews with representatives of The Black Agenda in English or Twi, or for organizations wishing to stand publicly with the petition, email:
theblackagendagh@gmail.com
STAY CONNECTED
Abibitumi Public Group:
https://www.abibitumi.com/groups/the-black-agenda-ghana-public/
AbibitumiTV:
https://abibitumitv.com/@1776457481414614
YouTube:
https://youtube.com/@blackagendagh
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/blackagendagh
Facebook:
@blackagendagh
The Founding 1,750 have spoken.
Now let’s carry this to 2,500.
Sign. Comment. Share. Organize.
Restore reparative citizenship in principle and in practice.