Famous Faces From Ghana Van Vicker
Joseph van Vicker, better known as Van Vicker, is a 44-year-old native of Ghana’s capital, Accra. Vicker’s childhood was defined by the loss of his father at the age of 6. His mother raised him in various locations all around the world. To this day, she is still his hero. His career in the public spotlight began in radio in 1999. From there, he moved on to television and, eventually, the movies. Today, he is one of Ghana’s most well-known actors, humanitarians and executives. He has been acting since 2004 and has routinely been recognized for his craft through award nominations and wins. Outside of the movie business, he has worked with Our Voice Matters International Peace Coalition and the Van Vicker Foundation. Business ventures also include film production house Sky + Orange Productions and the Van Vicker Training facility.
Photo credit: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
Boris Kodjoe
Boris Kodjoe is the son of Ghanaian physician Eric Kodjoe, who was married to German psychologist Ursula. Ursula is of partial Jewish descent, and Boris is said to have ties to a Holocaust victim and survivor. Kodjoe was born in Vienna, Austria, and came to America to attend Virginia Commonwealth University on a tennis scholarship. He was a standout on the collegiate tennis team in both singles and doubles competition, but a back injury permanently sidelined him from the game. The good looks with which he was gifted helped him find his true calling. TLC’s 1995 music video for Red Light Special was just the beginning for him. It was only seven years later that Kodjoe was named one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People.” With several film and television appearances to his credit, Kodjoe is currently shooting a movie based on O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson, in which he is cast as O.J.
Idris Elba
Idris Elba is one of the most bankable actors working today. His most recent film, The Suicide Squad, was not his first foray into comic-book films, as he had already starred as Heimdall in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and made appearances in The Losers and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. The Suicide Squad was the first comic-book film in which he was the featured lead among an impressive ensemble cast, but he had long before established his acting chops in television shows such as Luther and The Wire and with stellar big-screen performances in various genres. Elba was born to a Ghanaian mother, Eve, and a Sierra Leonean father, Winston, in London, England. Today, his home country considers him one of the most influential people of African descent in the U.K.
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BAVUAL:
Ghana’s Past: Colonialism, the Slave Trade and Independence Ghana was blessed with numerous natural gifts, not the least of which was its gold. Several kingdoms had ruled over sections of the country since the earliest known state of Bono, founded in the 12th century. In the 1400s, white Europeans moved into the area, which became known as the Gold Coast because it was a source of gold for trade. The Europeans built castles to protect their trade interests among Ghana’s lush forests and beautiful beaches, and many of those castles still stand today. When the interest of the Europeans turned to the slave trade, the Gold Coast’s location made it a convenient primary stop in the triangle trade among Europe, North America and Africa. People of the continent were enslaved through various means—tribal wars, kidnapping, familial sale—and transported to the Gold Coast to be shipped and sold, primarily in the Americas and the West Indies. In the 17th century, the slave trade became the most popular use of the Gold Coast. Historians estimate that around 10 million slaves passed through its ports from the late 1400s through the 1800s. Britain formally colonized parts of the Gold Coast by 1874. Conflicts between the imperialist settlers and natives of the area from the tribe of Akan went on for years. In these wars— known as the Anglo-Ashanti Wars, named after the Ashanti Kingdom—the Akan were not deterred by losses and kept coming back for 100 years. (See page 42.) Their resilience paid off, and the country gained its independence in 1957.
The African Heritage Magazine
| Winter 2022
