Google Doodle Celebrates Ghana’s Independence Day 2024

Google Doodle has commemorated Ghana’s Independence Day on 6 March. On this day in 1957, Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to become a free nation officially.

The country gained its independence from British colonial rule in 1957, after many protests and political resistance from the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and the Convention People’s Party under Kwame Nkrumah, who later became the first president of Ghana, the BBC said.

Before he was president, Nkrumah was Ghana’s first prime minister, responsible for successfully negotiating with the British and announcing independence for the country.

A pivotal moment in the journey to Ghana’s independence was the “Accra riots”, which occurred on 28 February 1948. Veterans of the Second World War who had fought with the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force organised a demonstration in Accra to petition the colonial governor that they should receive their promised end-of-war benefits and pay, according to the Public Records and Archives Administration Department in Ghana.

However, when the veterans refused to disperse, a colonial police chief opened fire and killed three veterans.

Angered by this, as well as the continuing injustices that the population had to endure, people in Accra and other areas took to the streets and attacked European and Asian businesses and property.

Immediately after this outbreak, the UGCC sent a cable to the secretary of state for the colonies in London, telling them that their committee was prepared to take over as interim government.

“We ask in name of oppressed, inarticulate, misruled and misgoverned people and their Chiefs that Special Commissioner be sent out immediately to hand over Government to interim Government of Chief and People and to witness immediate calling of Constituent Assembly,” their cable stated.

However, the governor believed that the leaders of the UGCC, called “The Big Six”, which included Nkrumah, were responsible for the protests that lasted five days and ordered them to be incarcerated.

Eventually, Nkrumah broke away from the UGCC to form the Convention People’s Party, which eventually ended the Gold Coast colony and led to Ghana’s independence.

Ghana’s flag was created by Theodosia Salome Okoh, who designed it for the newly independent nation.

The red symbolises those who died in the perseverance for independence, the gold represents mineral wealth, and the green depicts the country’s rich grasslands. The five-pointed star is a symbol of the people and African emancipation, according to South African History Online.

On 6 March, schools and businesses close every year as people gather in the streets for parades and carnivals, Google Doodle said.

Antony J Blinken, the secretary of state for the US, said in a statement that he joins President Akufo-Addo and the people of Ghana in celebrating Ghana’s 67 years of independence.

“As we celebrate this milestone, let us reflect on the rich history and the enduring ties of democracy that bind our two nations and our dynamic partnership,” he said. “The United States deeply values our longstanding friendship and our combined, constant efforts to strengthen our democracies and protect the human rights of all people.”