BLACK DOORS OF TEARS: November 2013

This image of President Barack Obama and daughter Sasha in Ghana's "Door of No Return" at Cape Coast Castle ran on the front page of Atlanta Journal-Constitution walking through the “Door of No Return” at Cape Coast Castle in Ghana.

The story said that as they passed through the doors and dungeons, “where slaves were taken as they were herded onto ships,” President Obama explained to his daughter what she was seeing. Later, Mr. Obama told reporters, “As painful as it is, I think that it helps to teach all of us that we have to do what we can to right against the kinds of evils that, sadly, still exist in our world.”

A sliver of that history — the very doors from the Cape Coast Castle’s “Doors of No Return”, the "Black Doors of Tears" became a part of “America I Am: The African American Imprint” , which started at the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center in Atlanta, GA.

The Doors were also on exhibit at Harvey B. Gnatt Center and Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York for three years.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

display of Black Doors of Tears

Called the ‘Black Doors of Tears’, these Doors were once part of the Cape Coast Castle. The Castle of Cape Coast is a slave-trading fort on the coast of Ghana constructed in 1653. This fortress was occupied by the Swedish, Danish, and British. Originally built for trade in gold and timber, it became a place of slave trade under British control. Captives, at any given time, usually about 1,000 men and boys, and 500 women and girls were kept in underground dungeons, awaiting the arrival of slave ships. As people passed through the dungeon doors, they were doomed to slavery never see their family again as they passed through the "Doors of No Return" never, no more, to see their homeland.

A only set of dungeon doors, "Black Doors of Tears" were preserved by H.R.M. Nana Kweku Egyir Gyepi III. All the doors from Cape Coast Castle were removed in a renovation project with exception to two other unique sets of doors. One set of doors has the Star of David engraved on either side of the double doors. These one-of-a-kind doors embossed with the Star of David were seen as a special and unique part of history and were retained in the Castle even today with the only other unique set of one-of-a-kind doors called the "Doors of No Return".

His Excellency, Nana Gyepi III happened upon workers who were in process of burning doors deemed as 'insignificant'. With great foresight, he convinced the workers to give him one set of the doors from off the burn pile. He helplessly watched the rest of the doors from Afrikan history went up in smoke. These "Black Doors of Tears" are the only remaining one-of-a-kind dungeon doors from the Cape Coast Castle.

His Excellency Nana Gyepi is the Senior Divisional Chief of the Central Region in Cape Coast Ghana. The Chiefs vision was to see the doors tour through every state in Americas, Europe and back home to Afrika. This tour was to share Afrikan history and to educate people, particularly those affected by the Diaspora; and, to generate funds to finance other needful projects such as the Tower of Return; promote economic development in Cape Coast’ Central Region; and, to promote Tourism in Ghana.

Now like the men, boys, women and girls that passed through the Doors of No Return, the Black Doors of Tears are now captive, housed under lock and key awaiting to be freed to continue their tour that all may have opportunity to experience the rich history that the these Door hold…..

Support the continuing exhibition of the “Black Doors of Tears”. Your generous donations would promote the development of the projects this exhibition was intended to support. So please, donate today!

The objective of Chief Nana Kweku Egyir Gyepi III and the SUCARDIF Organization is to raise public knowledge and awareness of the Slave Castles dungeons of Ghana West Africa, their significance in history of time and have them recognized as the last remaining monuments of pass History of the Tranas Atlantic Slave Trade on African soil. It is called Project Never We Forget.

This objective is best met by the completion of a three-phase project that would include the publication of books and other educational materials, a nationwide tour of the castle artifacts and a documentary taking place under great criticism. This three-phase project is called "The Stones of Tears". Ultimately, the completion of this endeavor will result in a better public understanding of slavery’s global impact and open the door to healing, promote mutual political relationships in the future and ultimately, the restoration for a Nation of people.