YEAR THREE, SO MUCH TO SQUEEZE! ✅ Third Year Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship Reflections
- Dr. April-Louise M. Pennant
- 12 minutes ago
- 9 min read
Wooooooo! I have made it to the final year of my Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (ECF). Honestly, this research has redefined me in all ways, always. My middle name, one of which also begins with an ‘M’, should now stand for “Mi-Likkle-But-Mi-Tallawah” - a Jamaican expression taken from one of the country’s mottos, “Wi Likkle But Wi Tallawah”, meaning “I/we are small but resilient, small but mighty; small but powerful”. It captures how I feel at this stage of my journey: resilient, resourceful & determined. So, call me Dr. April-Louise Mi-Likkle-But-Mi-Tallawah Pennant moving forward.
I can’t believe I really organised & conducted all of this – a three-year, multi-site research project across three countries on three continents, employing three methods. (Three is definitely my magic number, lol!) It’s amazing to see how my proposal, once just a collection of ideas & a plan, has truly come to life.
As with all projects, there never seems to be enough time, & there was so much to squeeze into this year- in fact, the whole three years! Yet one thing about me is clear: I give my all to whatever I do, & I always finish what I start. I’m excited to see the outcome & outputs of this journey.
Below I reflect on Year 3, the Ghana leg of the project.
From Jamaica back to Ghana
I didn’t know which African country I would end up in- historical research shows that enslaved Africans came from across the continent, even though many departed from the West African coast. Ultimately, based on my Year 1 & 2 findings, I chose Ghana, recognising it as meaningful in this story, especially as it is home to around 60 castles & forts of enslavement.
Interestingly, at the beginning of this research, I selected the Adinkra symbol, dwennimmen, as a personal emblem to sit alongside the Leverhulme Trust & Cardiff University logos which appear on all my research-related materials. Dwennimmen, meaning “the horns of a ram,” represents strength in mind, body & soul, as well as humility, wisdom & learning. Looking back, this choice feels both fortuitous & deeply fitting, especially as I ultimately ended up in Ghana, the birthplace of Adinkra, & as Ghana has taught me so much on both a professional & personal level.
Using the same research template I applied in Wales & Jamaica, I sought an organisation to host me, developed connections prior to arrival, & planned the trip in detail including visa, accommodation, transport & all the essentials.
It was my first time in Ghana, & I truly got to know it during my three-month stay. It might just be my soul home, as I felt so deeply connected. I wrote about it here.
Field-working in beautiful Ghana
I continued the same methods as in Year 1 in Wales & Year 2 in Jamaica, including archival & document research, site visits & interviews. I just tailored it to the Ghana leg of the project. I split my time mostly between Accra & Cape Coast, where I was hosted by the University of Cape Coast (UCC) as a visiting scholar & a writer-in-residence at the Library of Africa & the African Diaspora (LOATAD) in Accra. I wrote about these experiences here & here.
In total, I completed eight interviews with experts & locals, visited key sites such as Cape Coast & Elmina Castles, & conducted research in several archives & libraries.
Highlights from the Ghana leg of the journey
There were many wonderful parts of my research trip to Ghana so I will share a few:
Having a research assistant at UCC, Ella, who was amazing. She helped me with logistics & navigating Ghanaian culture & language. Best way to sum up her & my other unofficial research assistants’ contribution throughout this project? You only realise how ‘heavy’ something is once someone helps you carry it.
Presenting my research-in-progress at both the UCC’s Department of History & Diplomacy's seminar series & to LOATAD's first 2025 Black Atlantic residency cohort. I received insightful feedback & directions to explore further which was very useful.
Getting the chance to reconnect with & meeting people who welcomed, supported & embraced me & my research. They made me feel right at home as I completed such an intense project.
Lastly, my sister’s visit made it a full house- having come to Bangor, Wales in Year 1 & Kingston, Jamaica in Year 2. She got to tour Cape Coast Castle & uncovered part of her lineage too, & was deeply moved by the experience. What a star! I truly appreciate her support & her representing our family in the physical.
Challenges & unexpected lessons
Alongside the highlights, I also experienced some challenges during my time in Ghana. Some of these were:
The emotional toll- so many triggering, deeply profound & thought-provoking moments particularly during interviews & site visits. I really saw & understood what my enslaved ancestors would have endured, which is heart-wrenching. Outside one of the dungeons at both Cape Coast & Elmina Castles, the quote from descendants of the enslaved who had returned, “we are the ones who refused to die”, etched itself into my soul, because that includes me & my ancestors too. Having a research diary, my dedicated therapist for this project & my loved ones was key to supporting me to keep going.
My stolen phone- this was the first time this has ever happened to me. It caused major disruption, but I was supported, managed to replace it, & continued like it never happened. I learnt about the importance of having insurance, being alert & being thankful that I was unharmed.
The weather was HOT. I love the sun, but this was something else. I had to adjust by not forgetting to wear my suncream, going out at usually at times when the sun wasn’t as high/hot & staying hydrated. I thank God for taxis, fans, air conditioning & the occasional breeze. On the bright side, my skin was sun-kissed & glowing when I returned to the UK .
Other research-related activities
Alongside my fieldwork in Ghana, as mentioned previously, I remained actively engaged in other research-related activities during this final year of my Leverhulme project as a staff member at Cardiff University's School of Social Sciences (SOCSI). These included supporting research bids & collaborating on an on-going research project with colleagues at my university & the National Trust, some of whose aims overlapped with my own work. It was rewarding to engage with another project with different perspectives, benefiting from the expertise of others while maintaining connections to my own research.
I was also honoured to be selected to participate in the podcast Confessions of an Early Career Researcher by the British Academy & the Leverhulme Trust, celebrating the Trust’s centenary. Even while in Ghana, I hopped online to take part. I appear on episode 4 – you can listen to mine & the other excellent episodes here.
Next Steps: bringing it all together
As I move forward, I will bring together the work from Years 1, 2 & 3 to create a coherent, unified narrative. I will complete the transcription of all my interviews, analyse them using NVivo, & review my videos & photographs to ensure every insight is captured & incorporated. From there, I will curate & write up my research findings, taking care to make them accessible to a wider audience. This stage will be about bringing together all the threads of the project, reflecting on what I have learnt, & ensuring that the story of the research, the sites, the people & the ancestors is presented fully & thoughtfully.
Water-inspired reflections
Over the past three years, my research journey has moved like water, tracing ancestral memory across continents. Beginning in Wales, flowing to Jamaica, & most recently arriving in Ghana, I have sought to gather these stories, hold them in my work, & return them to the spaces & audiences where they belong.
I plan to write a standalone post to reflect on this fully, perhaps once I complete the writing-up, but already I hold a deeper appreciation for enslaved African people & Black people across the world who are directly impacted by this history. As I listened, visited, watched & read, I felt in ways that cannot be captured by intellect alone, which is such a powerful form of learning. As someone once told me, “emotion is data”.
Ghana revealed more of the impact & devastation left in Africa, which is often overlooked, as Africans in the diaspora frequently take centre stage in this discourse. Yet I was in awe of the resilience, power & beauty of Ghana (& Africa as a whole). I also came to appreciate even more the importance of heritage spaces in preserving & passing on history & culture, & why we should care about & support their continued funding, while critically examining which stories are centred & who tends to be privileged in these spaces, wherever they may be.
These reflections travelled with me across the Atlantic during a recent holiday that involved a flight & a cruise. As I sailed & admired the vastness of the ocean, I thought about how far people like me have come (though there is still a long way to go) & about my ancestors who crossed the same waters under starkly different conditions. Can you imagine being separated from your home & family, with no light, no substantial nourishment, & no sense of where you were going or when you would arrive? I am only beginning to touch the surface of what they endured. Can their experiences ever be fully represented in heritage spaces today? We often hear that “we need to move on,” but perhaps that is precisely the problem. For too long, many of us have tried, yet it is impossible when the systems around us were built on these evil foundations & no meaningful atonement has been made for this crime against humanity.
Just look at the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa across the Caribbean, which is directly linked to the ecological damage left in the wake of plantation economies & slavery. The descendants of enslaved African people in Jamaica, Haiti, & Cuba continue to live, firsthand, with the lasting consequences of this destruction & are still, centuries later, at the mercy of Western powers to make it right- often forced to beg for aid & support to rebuild their societies. Full atonement & reparations would have gone a long way towards addressing these injustices & breaking this ongoing cycle of dependency. Please donate here if you can: https://supportjamaica.gov.jm/.
As Toni Morrison writes about water holding memory:
"You know, they straightened out the Mississippi River in places, to make room for houses & liveable acreage. Occasionally the river floods these places. 'Floods' is the word they use, but in fact it is not flooding; it is remembering. Remembering where it used to be. All water has a perfect memory & is forever trying to get back to where it was. Writers are like that: remembering where we were, that valley we ran through, what the banks were like, the light that was there & the route back to our original place. It is emotional memory - what the nerves & the skin remember as well as how it appeared. And a rush of imagination is our 'flooding.”
This passage resonates deeply: the river may be displaced, yet it always returns. Memory is essential, both in writing & research, & I often feel a kind of ‘flooding’ in my mind as I remember my ancestors through imagination- & they remember us too. Sometimes I wish the transatlantic ocean could speak & bear witness- but it does speak in its movements, its tides, its waves, in the crashing & the rhythm of its currents. I wish I could fully understand it, listen to the stories it carries, the life still within it, for it holds not only the memory of those who crossed it but also those who never made it, whose lives were claimed by its depths.
Throughout my research, I have often found myself by the ocean- in Wales, Jamaica & Ghana- taking time to reflect. In many ways, I feel as though I embody not only my ancestors but the ocean itself: holding ancestral memory, carrying it, & returning it through my work across three continents. My research moves like water, seeking to reconnect past, present & place, giving voice to stories that demand to be seen & heard, & bringing ancestral narratives back into heritage spaces & public consciousness.
These reflections, feelings & recovered voices guide me as I consider how heritage spaces like Penrhyn Castle & others might better centre enslaved African people in their histories, ensuring these stories are preserved, witnessed & honoured, flowing into the present as fully truthful narratives.
Gratitude & looking ahead
My heart is full of appreciation for Ghana, my host organisations, & everyone who held, guided & supported me throughout this leg of the journey. I’m also deeply grateful to the Leverhulme Trust & Cardiff University for believing in this vision, & to God, my family & ancestors whose presence I feel in every step.
As this chapter closes, please continue following my journey. Look out for the forthcoming written findings, insights & creative outputs that will emerge from these three years of research & reflection. My continued aim is to inject a fuller, more truthful narrative into heritage spaces & histories, particularly in places like Penrhyn Castle, centring enslaved African people whose stories demand to be seen, heard & honoured. There is more to come. May we always remember, as descendants, that we truly & proudly are:
“the ones who refused to die,”
& long may we survive, thrive & breathe life, memory, appreciation & love into our ancestors. Amen & Ase ✨.
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