Accra: More than seven decades before Ghanaian scholars and professionals made their mark around the world, an 18-year-old Alfred Clayton Bannerman was already representing the Gold Coast on an international stage. Rare footage from 1956 sighted by GhanaWeb on August 30, 2026, shows the young Bannerman taking part in a televised discussion on race and prejudice alongside fellow African students from Nigeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa.
According to Ghana Web, Bannerman represented the Gold Coast in this significant debate, while Mohammed Liman represented Nigeria, Nebiat Tafari represented Ethiopia, and Dicks Loubser represented South Africa. Records of the programme identify the four teenagers as participants in a youth exchange and discussion programme examining prejudice and racial attitudes. This event occurred during a pivotal moment in the Gold Coast's history, as the country was still under British colonial rule but was moving rapidly towards independence under Kwame Nkrumah's leadership.
Bannerman was a student at Prempeh College when he was selected for an exchange scholarship, allowing him to travel to the United States in 1956. This experience was a stepping stone in his journey, as he later built an extraordinary career in medicine. Bannerman eventually became a professor of neurology at Columbia University in New York and the director of neurology at Jamaica Hospital Center in Queens.