The Awoonor-Renner family or Awunor-Renner family is a

Sierra Leone Creole The Sierra Leone Creole people () are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are lineal descendant, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Sierra Leone Liberated African, Liberated African slaves who ...

medical, legal, and commercial dynasty with branches of the family in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. The Awoonor-Renner, Awoonor-Wilson, Awoonor-Gordon families are branches of the Awoonor-Williams family that originated from

Waterloo, Sierra Leone Waterloo is a city in the Western Area of Sierra Leone and the capital of the Western Area Rural District, which is one of the sixteen districts of Sierra Leone. Waterloo is located about twenty miles east of Freetown. Waterloo is the second la ...

, and derived "Awoonor" from the Awuna territory in

Keta Keta is a coastal town and the capital of the Keta Municipal District in the Volta Region of Ghana. Keta was an important trading post between the 14th and the late 20th centuries. The town attracted the interest of the Danish, because they fe ...

. The Awoonor-Renner family has produced several distinguished doctors, lawyers, and businessmen in Sierra Leone, Ghana, and the United Kingdom. Alongside families such as the Dove family,

Easmon family The Easmon family or the ''Easmon Medical Dynasty'' is a Sierra Leone Creole medical dynasty of African-American descent originally based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The Easmon family has ancestral roots in the United States, and in particular Sav ...

and Smith family, the Awoonor-Renners are among the wealthy ''Aristo'' or

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

Creole families. In the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana), the family was part of the country's African political elite and some members were affiliated with the Aboriginal Rights Protection Society (ARPS), which included such activists as

John Mensah Sarbah John Mensah Sarbah (3 June 1864 – 27 November 1910)S. Tenkorang, "John Mensah Sarbah, 1864–1910", in ''Transactions of the HYistorical Society of Ghana'', Vol. XIV, No. 1, Legon, June 1973 (pp. 65–78), pp. 65, 76. Some other sources (inc ...

Kobina Sekyi William Esuman-Gwira Sekyi, better known as Kobina Sekyi (1 November 1892, Cape Coast – 1956), was a nationalist lawyer, politician and writer in the Gold Coast. Biography Sekyi, born on 1 November 1892 in Cape Coast, was the son of John Glad ...

and J. E. Casely Hayford.

Notable members of the Awoonor families

Awoonor-Gordon family

* Olu "Ritchie" Awoonor-Gordon (1957-2011) - journalist based in Freetown

Awoonor-Renner and Awunor-Renner families

*Dr William Awunor-Renner – doctor who served as acting Principal Medical Officer and one-time Mayor of Freetown * Peter Awoonor-Renner – lawyer and leader of the Gold Coast Bar *William Awoonor-Renner III – lawyer in Freetown and the Gold Coast *Dr Edward "Teddy" Awunor-Renner – doctor and the first African director of medical services in Sierra Leone *Dr Kenneth Bernard Awoonor-Renner – medical doctor *

Bankole Awoonor-Renner Kweku Bankole Awoonor-Renner (6 June 1898 – 27 May 1970) was a Ghanaian politician, journalist, anti-colonialist and Pan-Africanist. In 1921 Awoonor-Renner travelled to the United States (US) to study journalism at the Carnegie Institute of Te ...

(1898 -1970) – journalist and political activist * Olabisi Awoonor-Renner (1923 - 1975) - lawyer and political activist *William Roland Awunor-Renner – lawyer and judge *Dr Walter Awoonor Renner - physician, first Ghanian/Serria Leone doctor trained in Germany, founder of Sierra Leone Medical and Dental Association, served as official doctor for the U.S. Embassy and UN Missions in Sierra Leone *Raymond Awoonor-Renner – lawyer based in Freetown *Thomas Renner - Deputy Mayor of Winooski, Vermont, USA * William Renner (surgeon) (1846–1917), surgeon and cancer researcher.

Awoonor-Williams family

Kofi Awoonor Kofi Awoonor (born George Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor-Williams; 13 March 1935 – 21 September 2013) was a Ghanaian poet, author and diplomat. His work combined the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people with contemporary and religious symbolism ...

(1935–2013) * George Brigars Awoonor-Williams (1929–1977) *Francis (R.A.) Awoonor-Williams, founding member of the

United Gold Coast Convention The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was an early nationalist movement British colony of the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) that sought independence after the Second World War. It was founded in August 1947 with the aim of self-government "i ...

(UGCC)

References

Sources

*Adelaide Cromwell, ''An African Victorian Feminist: The Life and Times of Adelaide Smith Casely Hayford 1848–1960''. Reprinted Routledge, 2014, {{ISBN, 9781317792116
"William Awoonor-Renner"
The Equiano Centre, UCL. Christian families Literary families Medical families Sierra Leone Creole families