Alfred Charles Sam (c. 1880 – 1930s?), known as Chief Alfred Sam, was a Gold Coast-born merchant and pioneer

pan-Africanist Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...

who during 1913 to 1915 encouraged the resettlement of

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

as part of the

Back-to-Africa movement The back-to-Africa movement was a political movement in the 19th and 20th centuries advocating for a return of the descendants of African American slaves to Sub-Saharan Africa in the African continent. The small number of freed slaves who did ...

Biography

He was born at Apaso (Appasu) in the West Akim district of the Gold Coast (now

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 ...

), and was educated at a

mission school A mission school or missionary school is a religious school originally developed and run by Christian missionaries. The mission school was commonly used in the colonial era for the purposes of Westernization of local people. These may be day s ...

Kyebi Kibi or Kyebi is a town located in the East Akim Municipal District, Eastern Region, Ghana, Eastern Region of Ghana. Its population is 11,677 people as of 2013. History Kibi is the traditional capital of the Akyem Abuakwa state in the Ea ...

. He became a trader in

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

and other goods, and acquired the title of

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

either from an uncle (as he claimed), Robert A. Hill (ed.)
''The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers: 1826–August 1919''
University of California Press, 1983, pp. 536–547.Semhar Negassa
"Chief Alfred Charles Sam"
''BlackPast.org''. Retrieved August 8, 2016. or as an honor to recognise that he had traveled to the US or the UK.S. K. B. Asante

reprinted from ''The Encyclopedia Africana Dictionary of African Biography'', 1977. Retrieved 8 August 2016. In May 1913, after corresponding with

Herbert Macaulay Olayinka Herbert Samuel Heelas Badmus Macaulay (14 November 1864 – 7 May 1946) was a Nigerian nationalist, politician, surveyor, engineer, architect, journalist, and musician. Macaulay is considered by many as founder of Nigerian nat ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and traveling to the US, he began holding large camp-style meetings in Weleetka

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and elsewhere, encouraging African Americans to buy $25 worth of stock in his Akim Trading Company, join a voyage to their "ancestral home", settle on fertile land that he claimed to have purchased there, reject America and live a life of freedom. His stated intentions were to help develop trade between

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

and the United States, by selling commodities such as

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

and

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

to the US, and encouraging black American farmers and mechanics to settle in Africa and so develop the economy there. Among his claims were stories of "diamonds lying on the ground after a rain, trees that produced bread, and sugar cane as large as stove pipes".Larry O'Dell
"Chief Alfred Sam"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2016. Although his scheme was criticized by black businesses and newspapers, and by the authorities, he was cleared of fraud. He was supported by the ''African Pioneer'', a journal of the Back-to-Africa movement, and persuaded hundreds of families to sell their possessions and invest in his scheme. By early 1914, some 500 black Americans were prepared to sail to Africa on Sam's ship, the former German steamer ''Curityba'' which he renamed the S.S. ''Liberia'', and assembled at

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

. An initial group of some sixty trained and selected men and women were eventually taken on board and left with Sam in August 1914, together with a cargo of lumber, cement, lime, flour, agricultural implements, and household goods with which to establish a settlement. They arrived in Bathurst (now Banjul),

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

, in December 1914, and both there and in

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

, received considerable publicity. After a long delay in Freetown while British authorities checked the ship's ownership, they eventually reached their destination,

Saltpond Saltpond is a town and the capital of the Mfantsiman Municipal District in the Central Region of Ghana. As of 2013, Saltpond has a population of 24,689 people. Major ethnic groups who lived in the town are the Akan, Ga, Ewe, Ashanti, an ...

, in January 1915, and were initially given a warm reception. However, their attempt to settle at Akim failed as local leaders refused to allow Americans to own the necessary land, and because of official restrictions, shortages of materials, and

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. Many of the intending settlers suffered physical and financial hardships, were discouraged, and felt misled by Sam's claims. Some eventually returned to Oklahoma, while others settled in African cities or

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

. By September 1915, before a second voyage could take place, Sam's venture collapsed, with most of those still intending to make the voyage losing their possessions and savings. Sam sold the ''Liberia'', and returned to work as a trader. Sources give differing accounts of his later life, with one stating that he also moved to Liberia, while others indicate that he returned to live in the US, living the remainder of his life as a cocoa buyer. It is thought that he died sometime during the 1930s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sam, Alfred 1880s births 1930s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 1910s in Gold Coast (British colony) Ghanaian pan-Africanists People from Eastern Region (Ghana)