The 'door of no return' at the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana. Slaves would exit this door and board ships bound for the western hemisphere.

Katrina Browne
Special to CNN

The Senate voted to apologize for slavery on June 18. The House apologized last summer. The first family - descendants of Africans, of enslaved Africans and of slave-holders - visited a slave fort in Ghana.

These were historic occasions, and they occasioned the kind of hue and cry that always accompany the subject of slavery and whether we still need to reckon with it.

I believe we do need more reckoning, and a little more love and a little more logic would help that process.

Logic first: There's this quasi-math problem in which things don't add up. Many African-Americans naturally feel as if there is unfinished business from the past, while many European-Americans (and others) don't think they should inherit burdens from a past not of their making. So there's this generational equation to be worked out, and it will take big hearts, eager hearts, to do so.

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Obama points to the Door of No Return, which would shut before Africans were put on slave ships.

Wayne Drash
CNN

President Obama slowly walked across the grounds of Cape Coast Castle, a slave outpost in Ghana where hundreds of thousands of Africans were shipped as human cargo to a life of bondage in the United States, South America and the Caribbean.

"You almost feel as if the walls can speak. You try to project yourself into these incredibly harrowing moments," Obama told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

When the president reached the "Door of No Return," an arched gateway with thick doors that would shut behind African men, women and children before they were forced onto slave ships, Obama looked out over the Atlantic Ocean where waves crashed onto rocks. "Obviously there's a sense of what a profound sorrow must've been felt as people were hauled off into the great unknown," he said.

What does he tell his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, about slavery?

Keep reading...

Editor's Note: African Americans moving back to Africa choose to relocated to Ghana more than any other country on the continent. Tonight on AC360°, we talk with African Americans who have moved back to Ghana to hear their stories.

Anderson Cooper and President Obama walking around Cape Coast Castle.

Anderson Cooper | BIO
AC360° Anchor

Interviewing the President is always a difficult prospect. There are so many questions you want to ask, but you only have a limited amount of time.

We had been told we might get about 15 to 20 minutes sitting down with the President and then perhaps 10 minutes walking around Cape Coast Castle – a whitewashed fort through which enslaved Africans were sent to the New World.

We arrived in Ghana last week, one day before the President arrived with his family. We spent the day shooting a story about African Americans who visit Ghana to retrace their roots, and we also spent an hour or so walking through the Castle with members of the President's advance team.

It is a remarkable thing to see how much effort and organization goes into the President's movements. The Castle and the nearby hotel were full of secret service, embassy personnel, White House advance personnel, military backup and I'm sure more from other agencies as well.

Everything is timed to the minute: When the President will arrive, where he will go, etc. I read something on Drudgereport that said the crowds were not enthusiastic for the President's trip. I'm not sure where that impression came from.

Everywhere I went people were quizzing me about where to go to see Obama. I didn't tell anyone about his visit to the Castle, because I didn't know if that information had been released yet. On Ghanaian radio I heard all sorts of theories about what the President would be doing in the country, and where he might go.

Anderson Cooper joins a parade to celebrate the appointment of a new Chief on the Cape Coast of Ghana.

By the time he arrived at the Castle a huge crowd had gathered and was listening to music. When the President emerged from his limo, and waved to the crowd, everyone was screaming and waving back.

I was a little bit inside the Castle with my cameraman Neil Hallsworth. After waving, the President came back around the car, and did a little dance for the amusement of his kids and Mrs. Obama. It was a very lighthearted, private moment that few people saw.

We'll show it to you on 360°, as well as the interview tonight and tomorrow. We talked about the economy, Iran, Afghanistan, Don't Ask Don't Tell, as well as U.S. policy with regard to Africa.

We also talked a lot about his impressions walking through the dungeons of Cape Coast Castle, where so many enslaved Africans died, and so many more survived only to be loaded onto slave ships. He was there with his kids, and we talked about the impact of the visit on them, and how the history of the slave trade still resonates today in America.

We are also putting together an hour special: 'President Obama's African Journey, that will air later this week. I hope you tune in.

Anderson Cooper and President Obama walking around Cape Coast Castle.

Charly Feldman
AC360° Intern

Tonight on 360°, watch Anderson’s exclusive interview with President Obama in Ghana. They discuss everything from the economy to Afghanistan, the U.S. military’s “Don’t ask don’t tell” for gay service members and of course U.S. policy towards Africa.

We’ll take you on a tour of the dungeons of Cape Coast Castle with President Obama, to see where kidnapped Ghanaians awaited the horrifying boat rides to America just a couple of centuries ago. Greed and the slave trade triangle – all this and more on the program tonight.

But slavery isn’t just a thing of the past. Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s joins us from Haiti with a 360° dispatch on modern day slavery. It’s hard to imagine, but children as young as four years old are caught up in this vicious cycle. We’re digging deeper.

Plus, Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings began today at Capitol Hill, as the Senate Judiciary Committee discusses her abilities as a potential Supreme Court judge. From accusations of judicial activism to her controversial comment about being a “wise Latina”, Candy Crowley brings you the raw politics tonight, with senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

Also, Randi Kaye joins us live from L.A. with the latest details on Michael Jackson’s death. His sister LaToya is speaking out. We’ll have her controversial account of what she believes happened to Michael. Was he murdered? Or, as Joe Jackson now suggests did the prospects of his London concerts burn him out? Plus, we’re following the money trail. Tune in to 360° for the answer to these questions.

Join us at 10pm ET for all this and much more! See you then.

Program Note: The first African-American President visited Ghana this past week and Anderson Cooper tagged along for the journey. Here are a few snapshots from the trip. For more on the President's historic visit, tune in to AC360° tonight 10p ET.

AC360°

Anderson shooting a segment in Ghana.

President Obama and Anderson talk during their sit-down interview.

Anderson talks with Mrs. Imahkus Okofo, who used to live in the United States, at a former Slave Fortress on the Cape Coast of Ghana ahead of President Obama's visit to Ghana.

Anderson bends down to look at a poster welcoming President Obama to Ghana.

Anderson shoots a segment on the Cape Coast of Ghana.

Anderson and President Obama talk on the grounds of the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana.

Anderson walks by a parade celebrating the appointment of a new official on the Cape Coast of Ghana.

Chakun, Ghana had the highest rate of Guinea worm cases in its district before it got a new borehole. The villagers are now notably stronger and healthier that they have access to clean water.

People fetching water from a dirty pond in Kpalang village, Ghana. The pond is the only source of water for this remote farming village of 600 people.

Auckhinleck Adow
Associate director, World Vision in Ghana

There was palpable excitement here in Ghana as President Obama visited this past weekend. He highlighted our nation's progress, most recently our peaceful, democratic election. Accra is still abuzz and my colleagues and neighbors are talking about it constantly.

Born and raised in Ghana, I remember the awe I felt as a child when Queen Elizabeth II visited in 1961. Now, my 13-year-old daughter had the chance to see the first African-American president visit her nation, and her excitement makes me proud of the progress our country has made. For example, Ghana is the only sub-Saharan African country on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of cutting hunger in half by 2015.

As I reflect this week on the visit, I wonder what windows of opportunity it offers for the nearly half of Ghanaians surviving on less than US $1 a day. And amidst President Obama’s focus on Ghana’s democratic progress and good governance, it could easily be forgotten that there are still so many Ghanaians struggling to survive.

I know that much of the outside world views Ghana as a peaceful and progressive nation in a struggling region, but the stark reality is that along with our relative progress, we still struggle with endemic poverty.

Our government has allowed aid organizations to make tremendous strides in development, but I am still concerned by the suffering I see around me on a daily basis.

In addition to poverty, harmful traditional practices also limit women and children’s potential. In northern Ghana for instance, World Vision works with communities of outcast women who are shunned by their families and friends because they are accused of witchcraft. Many times these elderly women will take their granddaughters to live with them, leaving the girls little chance to experience a normal childhood. They will forego schooling to gather food and firewood so their grandmothers can survive. And, they will become outcasts by association, disowned by their society.

A woman draws water from a pond in Kpalang, Ghana. Meimunatu, 40, fears for her daughter who must drink the contaminated water.

Yet Ghana is still better off than many African nations. Where World Vision has had the opportunity to implement water projects, for example, I have seen entire communities transformed. Over the past several years, World Vision’s partnership with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has enabled thousands of boreholes to be drilled and also provided over 10,000 latrines. In rural Ghana water is a precious commodity and providing clean water to a community is life changing and an opportunity to greatly reduce the effects of poverty.

Just before he arrived, President Obama and G8 leaders promised $20 billion toward food security in the developing world. Now, as a timeline is developed to deliver on this promise, it was the perfect opportunity for Obama to visit Ghana. According to the World Food Program, Ghana has shown consistent progress in fighting hunger, drastically decreasing from 5.4 million hungry people in 1990 to 1.9 million in 2005, but there is still much more to be done.

I see challenge, but much hope for triumph here everyday, and while many Ghanaians celebrate the visit of one of the world's most powerful leaders to one of Africa's most solid democracies, it is my hope that we will also join together in lifting the other half of our nation out of poverty.

Akwaaba, akwaaba (Welcome, welcome) President Obama to Ghana.

Editor's Note: World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

Local dignitaries greet President Obama when he arrives in Ghana on Friday.

Josh Ruxin
Founder and Director, The Access Project
Assistant Professor in Public Heath, Columbia University

There was a democratic buzz in the air the last time I traveled to Ghana. Presidential elections were under way, and I was lucky to be traveling with an aspiring candidate, Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, the country’s minister of finance in the eighties and early-nineties. Everywhere we traveled, Ghanaians were debating the challenges facing their nation and reveling in their increasingly vibrant and stable democracy.

That strong embrace of democratic ideals has not been lost on the Obama administration. The U.S. President’s visit to Ghana this past weekend was a symbolic move that now resonates across the continent. Rather than giving in to the temptation of having a homecoming in Kenya, Obama chose the West African nation as his first stop. It’s a sign of smart continental politics with a clear message: this administration values democratic values above all else.

During the time I spent in Ghana, I could see the national growth that was occurring each and every day. The country looks and feels as if it’s booming. Restaurants and hotels are springing up and economic growth is steady. Although it is unlikely that the President took it in, Ghana also has a thriving club scene complete with some of the continent’s best music.

The country’s major oil reserves will continue to help its economic growth substantially. Such findings in other nations have ironically often exacerbated corruption and poverty. You don’t need to look far to Nigeria to see that its oil riches have not translated into improved living conditions for the average Nigerian.

But Ghana has a chance to get the equation to work. I imagine President Mills spoke with President Obama about this issue. U.S. technicians could me invaluable to Ghana’s government by offering help to convert this newfound source of wealth into something more perennial. But these goals also depend on a healthy and well-educated population.

While we should certainly celebrate Ghana’s many successes, we must also keep in mind the areas where it falls short. While democracy continues to thrive, the nation’s poverty statistics are simply not in keeping with the nation’s relative wealth. It’s true that per capita income is roughly $600 per year; about twice as much of the income of the country I currently call home – Rwanda.

Nonetheless, Ghana’s health statistics and basic human development indicators have made relatively little progress over the last two decades, and this statistic is telling; 10 percent of all kids die before reaching the age of five.

Ghana’s history as a key post for slave trading was a symbolic backdrop for Obama’s visit – his visit with his family to the Cape Coast Castle underscored this point, but the real story to which we must pay attention is Ghana’s recent history. It was the first independent Sub Saharan African nation and it continues to shine as a beacon of hope. With the right partnerships and support, it could become even more.

Editor’s Note: Josh Ruxin, the founder and director of the Access Project, which develops public health programs in Africa. Ruxin is also a Columbia University assistant professor in public health.

Editor’s Note: President Obama made his first visit to Sub Saharan Africa as President this past weekend. He and his family visited Ghana where the president gave a wide-ranging address to the parliament of Ghana, a western African nation seen as a model of democracy and growth for the rest of the continent. Obama’s visit prompted AC360° contributor Chris Guillebeau, to reflect on his four years working in the region.

Boats along the shore of Ghana's coast.

Chris Guillebeau
AC360° Contributor

West Africa is the kind of place that is largely unknown to most people who haven't made a deliberate effort to study it. Travel writers struggle to describe the region without the clichéd contrasts: hope, despair, joy, sorrow. That's what you get when you combine a poverty-stricken area with some of the world’s happiest people.

Many people ask how they can get started in international development work. My answer: carry boxes.

Depressed after 9/11, I surfed the internet looking for volunteer jobs as far away from America as possible. I found one in a medical charity that needed a warehouse manager, which turned out to be a euphemism for box-carrier. Technically I managed a slew of donated goods for refugee camps and nurses, but mostly I shuffled boxes back and forth in a Land Rover every day.

No matter. It was the best job ever. I went to West Africa in 2002 with a two-year volunteer commitment. Before the end of the first year, I ended up running more than the warehouse. The organization needed a Programs Director to oversee the field work and coordinate relationships with host governments throughout the region. “Pick me,” I said, and for some reason they did.

All told, I spent four years in West Africa, beginning in Sierra Leone and ending in Ghana. I worked with presidents and warlords – who sometimes turned out to be the same people. I encountered all the clichéd contrasts writers are supposed to avoid, and struggled to avoid using them myself. Mostly, I encountered remarkable people in extremely difficult circumstances.

Here are a few of the lessons I learned from my time in the region:

Corruption is the greatest factor that holds Africa back. I saw it over and over, from embassy officials who put my $100 visa fees – always paid in cash – directly in their back pocket, to cabinet ministers who billed the central government for tens of thousands of non-existent expenses on a routine basis. Corruption is why most foreign aid never reaches the people it's intended to help, and why most African countries continue to be poor four decades after the end of colonialism.

For extreme travel training, head to West Africa. If you can successfully travel within that difficult region, you can travel anywhere. In my quest to visit every country in the world, I've been to more than 100 countries so far – but few adventures have been as challenging as hopping between Guinea and Togo, or the overland border crossing between Benin and Nigeria.

When confronted with hardship, gratitude is the best response. I travel a lot these days, and sometimes things go wrong. When I leave my iPod in the back of a Peruvian taxi (last week) or nearly get deported from Saudi Arabia (this week), I try to think back to the challenges faced by people who live on less than $1 a day. It's all a matter of perspective - something I acquired many times over during those years in West Africa.

The best time to leave the best job in the world is right before you get tired of it. In my final year overseas, I found my attention drifting to other things. I also noticed that some of my colleagues who remained in post-conflict settings more than a few years became bitter about international development or Africa in general. I don't blame them – the work can be draining, with little external reward – but I didn't want that to happen to me. I was ready to move on.

Except for one thing – part of me will never move on. The funny thing about transformation is that it usually involves permanent change. When you freely give of yourself and allow your world to be turned upside down for a while, you usually come out of the experience a much wiser and humble person.

Try it sometime. Feel free to start by carrying boxes.

Editor’s Note: Chris Guillebeau is a writer, entrepreneur, and world traveler with the goal of visiting every country in the world (111 down, 86 to go). When not traveling, he lives in Portland, Oregon and publishes the Art of Nonconformity blog at ChrisGuillebeau.com. Follow Chris on Twitter @chrisguillebeau.

Program Note: Watch Anderson's interview with President Obama on AC360° on Monday at 10 p.m. ET.

Anderson was bitten by something during the night. Here's his picture for proof.

Anderson Cooper | BIO
AC360° Anchor

@andersoncooper: just interviewed the President. We walked around Cape Coast Castle with him, it's a former dungeon for slaves heading to America.

@andersoncooper: we walked through the "door of no return," the portal thru which slaves were sent to the New World. Talked about the ...

@andersoncooper: ....impact of it on him and his family. Outside hundreds have gathered to get a glimpse of Obama....

@andersoncooper: playing endlessly, everywhere, is a ghana hi-life song "Bar-ack, Bar-ack. Bar-ack O-Bama." It's by a band "Black Rasta"..

@andersoncooper: ..its one of those songs that's catchy at first, but gradually drives you insane..like 99 Luftballoons. Remember that one?

@andersoncooper: forgot to mention. During the night I got bitten by something on my left eyelid.. Maybe a spider. When I awoke, my eyelid was ....

@andersoncooper: my eyelid had swollen nearly shut. Not the kind of thing you want to have happen before interviewing the President...

@andersoncooper: In my mind I looked like Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky". In reality i looked more like Mathew Broderick in the movie "Election."

@andersoncooper: luckily, by the time the President arrived it had gone down significantly. "Not so bad," he said to me as he sat down.

@andersoncooper: now its nearly back to normal..still a little swollen. I took a picture for the ac360.com blog. I'm about to go to bed.

@andersoncooper: I think I'm going to sleep with the lights on.

Follow all of Anderson's twitter updates @andersoncooper.

Program Note: President Obama makes his first official trip to Ghana today. He is the first African-American President to visit the African continent. Anderson sits down with President in Ghana to talk about the significance of his trip and the President's own African history. Tune in tonight for more from Anderson next week for the interview. AC360°, 10 p.m. ET.

Charlie Moore
AC360° Senior Broadcast Producer

These pictures were taken at the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, which was used in the trans-Atlantic slave as the final departure point for slaves bound for the western hemisphere. Thousands of slaves were held in the dungeons of the castle before being transferred to boats. More on the slave trade next week during our special, "President Obama's African Journey."

The courtyard of the Cape Coast Castle.

The "door of no return." Slaves would exit this door and board ships bound for the western hemisphere.

The castle was fortified from attack.

Fishing boats just outside castle on the coast of Ghana.

Editor's Note: Anderson is in Ghana today where he will meet up with President Obama for an exclusive interview. He is talking to people in Ghana about what they think of the significance of the first African-American president to visit the West African country. And we're also looking into the history of the African slave trade routes. Anderson visited the Cape Coast Castle where many slaves were transferred to ships bound for the Western hemisphere.

The 'door of no return' at the Cape Coast Castle. Slaves would exit this door and board ships bound for the western hemisphere.

Anderson Cooper | BIO
AC360° Anchor

From ac: just arrived in ghana. A lot of excitement here about Obama's trip. Everyone wants to see him. I'll be tweeting all weekend.

From ac: ghana is cool. Accra, the capitol is bustling with energy. Posters welcoming Obama are everywhere. It's great to be back in africa.

Follow Anderson's twitter updates here @andersoncooper