American actress and activist, Gabrielle Union, has shared the profound emotional impact of her visit to the Cape Coast Castle, a pivotal site in the transatlantic slave trade, describing an experience that was both “heartbreaking and healing.”
During an episode of the YouTube series ‘Reclaiming with Monica’, Union detailed the powerful connection she felt while touring the castle’s dungeons and the nearby “River of No Return,” the final point of contact in Africa for countless enslaved Africans before they were forced onto ships.
While in the castle, she shared how she felt connected to her ancestors during her visit to the castle.
“Standing inside those walls, I could feel the spirits of my ancestors — their pain, their strength, their endurance. It was heartbreaking and healing at the same time,” Union recounted.
NBA superstar Dwayne Wade and wife Gabrielle Union arrive in Ghana
She narrated a harrowing experience when her mother collapsed while on a walk along the river.
According to her, she had thought her mother was dead, only to get reassurance from an unexpected source.
“We were going to the river, where they washed the slaves before they put them on the boats, and during the walk, my mum fell out. And I was thinking, ‘This is it. She’s gone, but very clearly, I heard my grandmother’s voice, who had been gone for many years, speak to me and said, ‘She’s alright,'” she said.
Gabrielle Union added that her mother was resuscitated, after which she demanded to be taken to the river.
“She was like, ‘Take me to the river.’ We weren’t at the river yet, but I was just crying,” she added.
While at the river, Union shared another experience her husband, basketball star Dwayne Wade, had.
“We were in the river, and everyone was in their own space. I had lost track of where my husband was. All of a sudden, I heard him scream. It was a bright, hot, sunny day. But the moment he screamed, the sky opened up and a downpour started.
“It was a whole other experience, like we were being cleansed,” she recounted.
Built by European traders in the 17th century, Cape Coast Castle stands as one of the most significant monuments to this dark chapter in history.
It served as a major slave-holding site where thousands were imprisoned under brutal conditions before being shipped across the Atlantic to the Americas.
Union’s pilgrimage is part of a broader movement of African Americans reconnecting with their ancestral heritage in Ghana.
This trend gained significant momentum during the country’s “Year of Return” in 2019, which commemorated 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia.
Watch the video below:
@newinghanatourism Gabrielle Union shared her powerful experience visiting the “River of No Return” in Ghana on the YouTube series Reclaiming with Monica, where she discussed connecting with her ancestors and the emotional impact of the site. The “River of No Return” is the Asin Manso Ancestral Slave River and Cemetery, where enslaved Africans were taken to take their last “bath” before being transported onto ships for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. 🎥: @reclaimingwithmonica | @gabunion
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