Amandla’s editor-in-chief passes on to glory.
KOFI AYIM
The death of Amandla’s longtime editor-in -chief, Mr. Ernest Kwabena Opong, was announced on April 1 in Accra, Ghana, after a short illness. He was 77.
Mr. Opong started basic education at the Abetifi Boys Primary School. He later entered high school at Oda Secondary School and continued Advanced Level studies at Opoku Ware Secondary School.
Mr. Opong attended the University of Lagos for his first degree in Philosophy. After briefly working in the Ghana Civil Service system, he left for the USA and later graduated with a master’s degree in mass communication at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.
After graduation he relocated to the East Coast and briefly taught English and Journalism at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York. He left the education establishment and joined White and Case as a Legal Secretary.
In late fall of 2002, Mr. Opong and four others teamed up in a West Orange, New Jersey, apartment to publish the first issue of Amandla, an African community-based newspaper. He occupied the position of editor-in-chief of the nascent monthly publication.
Mr. Kwabena Opong was at one time a Director at the Africa Bureau of the Center for Media and Peace Initiatives (CMPI). Prior to that, he was a regular contributor to CMPI TV show ” “Many Faces, One World” and played vital roles in the Diaspora Media Initiatives of the Center, bringing diverse journalists in New York reporting about their homeland and their host country the USA.
“He was instrumental to the establishment of the annual conference on media and democratic governance hosted jointly with the Rutgers University’s School of Public Affairs and Administration.
The annual conference has since been renamed the Michael Gershowitz Conference on Media and Governance, after a professor at the University who worked tirelessly to sustain annual conferences,” according to Uchenna Ekwo, PhD, a Public Policy Analyst and President of the Center for Media and Peace Initiatives.
Maurice O. Ene, PhD, the man who suggested the name “Amandla” for the newspaper, described Mr. Opong as “a brother of the pen!” Indeed, Mr. Opong was a prolific writer with a trove of knowledge on socio-geopolitics, not only of and in Africa, but also on Black issues the world over.
He had a photographic memory of historical events and Black perspectives and could have been an excellent speechwriter for any Black president or leader.
He was a founding member of Kwahuman Association, New Jersey, and served as its first secretary, according to records of the association. “It is unfortunate that we celebrate people more after they are gone than while they are with us,” writes Mr. Kwasi Morrison, a longtime and staunch member of Kwahuman Association of New Jersey.
Mr. Opong was also a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Irvington, New Jersey, and became a Church Elder in the process.
Ernest Kwabena Opong was not only earnest in his professional and social life, but he was also unassuming, with high integrity and penchant for hard work. He detested shenanigans and was not afraid to confront challenges.
Mr. Kwabena Opong relocated to Ghana in 2014, after which he assumed the position of Head of Family on his maternal side in Awisa, Eastern Region of Ghana.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Opong Mensah, a retired caterer at Tema Oil Refinery; three children: Ama Amanimaa Opong, CEO of The Pastry Arena, Accra; Adwoa Kwakyewaa Opong, Professor, African Studies Department, Chapman University, California; Nana Ama Serwaa Opong, Operations Manager, MG Supreme Ltd, Spintex, Accra; and four grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements will be announced soon.
Opanin Kwabena Opong
Damirifa due
Damirifa due,
Damirifa due, due!
Fare thee Well, Kwabena!
[BFA1]Since 2020 it’s been standard to capitalize Black.