The Armah Institute of Emotional Justice (AIEJ), a global non-profit based in Accra, Ghana, has unveiled a new project, ‘The Story of Your Name’, which aims to explore Black identity through personal stories, education, and healing.
The initiative spans Africa, the U.S., the U.K., and the Caribbean, with a month-long celebration throughout September, focusing on the global Black experience.
At the heart of ‘The Story of Your Name’ are two powerful questions: “What is the story of your name?” and “What shapes your Blackness?”
Participants are invited to answer these questions through voice notes, sharing their stories of who named them and why, and how their identity as Black people has been formed.
Stories are pouring in from across Ghana, South Africa, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, the Caribbean, the U.K., and the USA, creating a rich tapestry of Black experiences worldwide.
The project serves as an audio map, using personal narratives to weave together histories of family, nationhood, oppression, freedom, healing, love, pain, and power.
Speaking about the initiative, Esther Armah, CEO of AIEJ, said, “These stories are funny, moving, insightful, and thought-provoking. There’s beauty, love, trauma, pain, and power. You get a history lesson in a story that is just 3-5 minutes long. We’re drawing an audio map using voice notes to build a sonic bridge of healing with a global Black soundscape.”
‘The Story of Your Name’ is part of a broader Emotional Justice project, a racial healing framework created by AIEJ that addresses the legacy of untreated trauma in Black people’s emotional economies.
The initiative is part of a larger multi-year project titled ‘HEALING HARM | HEEDING HISTORY’, which was launched in September 2023. The initiative focuses on healing between Black people in Africa and those in the Diaspora through a mix of in-person and online events.
The in-person launch event of ‘The Story of Your Name’ took place at the Library of Africa and the African Diaspora (LOATAD) in Accra’s Adenta Municipality. The event was a vibrant fusion of drumming, dramatization, and dialogue, featuring Ghanaian artist Pearl Korkor Darkey. It was supported by key partners including the Ghana Tourism Authority, The Beyond the Return Secretariat, The African American Association of Ghana, The Ghana Caribbean Association, and Ahaspora.
“September is Black-on-Black healing month,” said Armah, noting that the AIEJ dedicates this time each year to highlight the emotional identity and healing needs of Africans and global Black people. She added, “A thriving fiscal economy of investment requires a healed emotional economy of identity.”
As ‘The Story of Your Name’ unfolds, it promises to become a powerful force for storytelling, reflection, and healing for the global Black community. The initiative highlights the importance of understanding and addressing the emotional legacies that have shaped the Black experience, opening the door for deeper connections and collective healing.
