The Metro: Detroit students immerse themselves in African culture during trip to Ghana

There is a new cohort of Detroit students who can now say that they’ve not only gone out of the country, but traveled all the way to Ghana on the continent of Africa for a cultural immersion experience.  

The trip was the grand prize to students in the Umoja Debate League that won the middle and high school debate tournaments in early summer. Students had the opportunity to explore the country and celebrate the similarities and differences they share with Ghanian youth — and even debate them on salient issues.  

Umoja Debate League is a nonprofit that works with Detroit schools to bring debate programming to students.  

Joining us on The Metro to share their experience was founder and executive director of the Umoja Debate League, Jerjuan Howard; student debate champ and recent graduate of Henry Ford High School Taureen Mitchell-Campbell, and eighth grader at Bates Academy Raeghan Stinson.

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“We believe that education is multifaceted, and we wanted to make sure that the award wasn’t just a trophy, but an experience — something they can take with them for the rest of their lives,” Howard said. 

Stinson shared that the kids who went on the trip made close friends and gained so much from a connection with a different culture. They brought Detroit with them and shared what their lived experiences in the city are. 

“We were basically telling them, how it was, like, really developed over here,” Stinson says. “So if you were to come over here, it wouldn’t be anything like here. And the thing is, over there, everything’s natural. I think that was why I was glowing.”

Connecting with Ghanian students made it much harder to say goodbye, Mitchell-Campbell admits. 

“You could feel all the love. Like it was just everybody was interested. It was just so many questions that we all had to ask each other,” Mitchell-Campbell said. “We were staying at a hotel at the time, and we had to go to another school to debate and interact with them. They couldn’t get us back on the bus…it was a very hard time.”

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• Earlier this week, we spoke with the head of the Small Business Association, Brian Calley, about why some businesses oppose the decision. And now we turn to an advocate of paid sick leave. Founding director of Mothering Justice Danielle Atkinson joins the show. The nonprofit works to empower mothers of color and she’s been a big advocate for paid sick leave.
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