My name is Monique, and I’m a Black American woman with direct maternal lineage from Equatorial Guinea—one of the 12 countries fully banned from entering the United States under Executive Order 14161, signed by President Donald J. Trump in 2025.

The order claims to protect the U.S. from national security threats. But what it fails to acknowledge is the human, ancestral, and spiritual cost of barring people from a country that many of us descend from—not by choice, but by force.

Centuries ago, my ancestors were taken from Equatorial Guinea as part of the transatlantic slave trade. While the history is complex—yes, African elites and middlemen were involved in the trade alongside European colonizers—the truth remains: Black bodies were sold, trafficked, and stripped of their homelands and identities. Now, in 2025, the U.S. government has told the descendants of those stolen people: you still don’t belong there—or here.

This isn’t just about foreign policy. It’s about intergenerational disconnection.

Under this order, Equatorial Guinea was banned due to “inadequate screening and identity management protocols,” and an F/M/J visa overstay rate of 70.18%. But let’s not pretend this is only about data. This is about power, perception, and politics. The ban applies even to those of us trying to reconnect with our roots, visit ancestral land, or engage in spiritual and cultural healing work.

My grandmother couldn’t go back. My mother never had the chance. And now I’m told I don’t deserve it either.

This petition isn’t about ignoring security concerns or rewriting history. It’s about balance. It’s about recognizing that when policies like this are enforced without nuance or humanity, they continue the legacy of disconnection that slavery began. That matters. It matters to me. It should matter to you.

I am calling on President Donald J. Trump, the U.S. State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security to remove Equatorial Guinea from the banned list.

I am calling for:

A policy that accounts for ancestral justice, not just vetting algorithms
A review of how these bans impact the African diaspora, especially Black Americans seeking reconnection
A path for descendants of enslaved Africans to visit their ancestral homelands, regardless of visa overstay statistics

This is personal. This is spiritual. This is generational.

Sign this petition if you believe:

Descendants of enslaved people deserve a pathway to reconnection.
The right to return should not be blocked by outdated perceptions or blanket bans.
Ancestral lands should not be permanently out of reach.

We were taken. Now we’re banned from going back. This isn’t justice. It’s unfinished business.