Kwame Nkrumah was born in 1909 in the Western Province of the Gold Coast. His early education  was at his local village school. After his elementary school years ended he became a pupil teacher at Half Assini, he was then 17 years old. The Principal of the Government Training College in Accra visited the school and was so impressed that he recommended that the young Nkrumah should go to his college to train as a teacher. Nkrumah enrolled at the Training College in 1927, the Assistant Vice Principal was Dr Kwegyir Aggrey, the first African member of staff.  After graduating from the Training College in 1930 he became a primary school teacher at the Roman Catholic Junior School at Elmina, promoted to  Head Teacher a year later at the Roman Catholic Junior School, Axim. It was at this time that he applied for entry to Lincoln University, USA. Kwame Nkrumah arrived in New York on 22 October 1935. He graduated in 1939 with a BA degree in Economics and Sociology, coming sixth in a class of 46. He enrolled at the Lincoln University Theological Seminary and also the University of Pennsylvania for two masters’ degree courses in Philosophy and Education.

He graduated top of the class in 1942 at Lincoln and gained an MA in Philosophy.The following year he earned an MSc in Education from the University of Philadelphia. Nkrumah was later awarded the honorary degree of Doctors of Laws. It was whilst in the USA  that Nkrumah wrote the first draft of “ Towards Colonial Freedom, later published in London in 1945.

Dr. Nkeumah and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Whilst in London, he was at the heart of the West African National Secretariat as an Executive Officer, he was also Chairman of a society called “The Circle”. Both organisations had as their objective the formation of a Union of West African States. He returned to the Gold Coast in 1947 as General Secretary of the United Gold Coast Convention. 

Nkrumah outlined his plans for political action to force self-government from the colonialists in a Working Paper to the Working Committee of the UGCC in 1948.

His plans included:

With Nkrumah’s arrival in the country, he travelled across the country holding meetings, organising local branches and making speeches. Everywhere he went people flocked  to hear him speak. Never before had they heard anyone put the issues so clearly before them. The mood of the country was changing , there was riots, agitation , boycotts and  struggle from the mass of the people, the pressure mounted and the  Nkrumah and other leaders of the UGCC were arrested. The British Government set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry.