Afram: The Names Behind the Founding of an African Publishing Giant

That’s the current board chair of Afram Publications Ghana Ltd. To me, she’s just my ‘aunt’ of many years, ‘Auntie Esi.’ Her academic colleagues and students will recognize her as Prof. Esi Sutherland-Addy and the whole of the Republic of Ghana might recall her in all sorts of roles including Minister of State for Education and Culture.

What’s the connection? Well, it was her mother—eminent writer and cultural activist—the late Mrs. Efua T. Sutherland, who first envisioned in the 1950s creating an indigenous publishing house in Ghana.

My grandfather, the late Professor J. H. Kwabena Nketia, recalls that “Mrs. Sutherland discussed the idea with Professor K. A. Busia, Dr. J. B. Danquah, and several other prominent writers and scholars of the time. This vision gained further momentum nearly two decades later through the collaboration between Mrs. Sutherland, Mr. Willis E. Bell, an exceptionally talented photographer, and Professor J. H. Kwabena Nketia, a renowned musicologist and writer. Their collective focus was on publishing their creative works and other African and local materials for Ghanaian readers.” (Afram Publications website)

So that was the post-colonial trinity that founded Afram Publications: Efua Sutherland, Kwabena Nketia and Willis Bell; two gentlemen and a lady, two Africans and an American. While Mr. Bell brought his artistic skills and sharp business acumen to bear, Mrs. Sutherland and Prof. Nketia brought to the table their innovative ideas and academic weight as acclaimed educationists, writers, and Africanists.

WHY THE NAME ‘AFRAM’?

Before the construction of the hydroelectric Akosombo Dam in 1964-65, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana’s first president) assembled a research team that included the founders of Afram Publications and several young graduates from the University of Ghana.

This team went to the #AframPlains to collect data on the people, places, and cultural practices of the area. The goal was to ensure that the history and cultural heritage of the region, which would be affected by the impending flooding by the damming, would not be lost to society.

Thus later naming their nascent company ‘Afram’, which was incorporated in 1973 and began operations in 1974 (a decade after the research tour), became a way to preserve and promulgate that people, place and their practices for posterity, in perpetuity. It is worth noting the spirit of patriotism here, for none of the Afram founders was from the Afram Plains.

Whatever happened to that spirit?!