Teenage mother in Detroit becomes a Ghanaian queen

Teenage mother in Detroit becomes a Ghanaian queen

Kennedy Johnson was 15 years old when she gave birth to a girl in a nursing home for teen mothers in Detroit in February 1996. Twenty -five years later, Johnson found herself in North Ghana, where she was appointed queen. It was difficult to believe how life she had led her at this point.

award for the "Zosimli naa"

in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Tamale, the largest city in northern Ghana, Johnson received her honorary title "Zosimli Naa" in October 2021. This was awarded to her by the Dakpema, Abdul-Razik Salifu, a local spiritual leader. Zosimli Naa can be roughly translated as a "friendship queen" and thus makes her the head of the development projects in the region.

thousands of kilometers from her home, riding on a horse and dressed in traditional royal clothing, Johnson could easily think that she was in a dream.

"I'm still pneuming," said Johnson to CNN. "It feels very surreal."

The way to Queen

Johnson’s story began as a young mother in Detroit in the 1990s, a time that she describes as a "big challenge". This statement is understated. She remembered that a relative was a pregnant 15-year-old in the nursing home and promised to pick them up as soon as the child was born. However, this never came back.

"I had to give up many of my childhood goals," she said. "I had to dig deep and find a kind of strength."

When her daughter was 11 years old, Johnson began to take her abroad while traveling - first to the Bahamas, then to Hong Kong and finally to South America. The two fell in love with discovering the world, and Johnson began to document their trips online to show that minorities can also travel.

The discovery of their roots

"I met other people my age, but not in my demographic group," she said. "I was in places and the people stayed and said: 'Beyoncé!' They automatically assumed that I work in the entertainment industry and do not go on vacation because people with colored skin didn't really travel."

years later after D’Kiya left her parents' house, Johnson made a DNA test that revealed that she had Nigerian and Ghanaian roots. For the first time she led her trips to West Africa. She described her arrival as a "return", which "felt like a great sigh of relief".

Soon after her first trip, Johnson founded Green Book Travel, a company that organized trips to West Africa for members of the diaspora. It was named after the annual travel guide who provided black people in Jim Crow America to protect it. Green Book Travel leads people to historically important places, including the sites of the deportation in the transatlantic slave trade.

The role of the friendship queen

The trips immediately attracted hundreds of people, Johnson reported, and their trips to West Africa became more and more common. On a trip, she felt an inner urge - her "body burned" - to visit the north of Ghana. On the second day in the region, she was asked to pay a traditional visit to the DAKPEMA and its elders in Tabale. It quickly became clear to her that this was not an ordinary meeting.

"They started to advise against each other," she said, "and then they said: 'We want you to prepare for becoming a queen.

originally Johnson did not understand the importance of the offer. When she described the meeting to a village elder, it almost had an accident.

Four months later, together with her daughter and best friend, Johnson was officially recognized in Tamale "Enkinned"-officially recognized as a friendship queen-and was presented to the community in a parade at the annual Damba festival, in which she rode on a horse for the jubilation calls of the crowd.

"It was overwhelming because the crowd was so big," said Kendall Jones, Johnson's best friend who was at her side at the event. "It was the first time that I experienced how people run after your car while you are driving away."

initiatives for the community

The role of the friendship queen brings with it increased status and practical responsibility for the community. Johnson works with the elders of the Dagbon kingdom, which until the 14. Century dates back and comprises about five million people to lead positive initiatives to tabale where she now lives. So far, together with her charitable Foundation Kith and Kin, she has worked on providing clean water, hygiene products and shoes to the community and is working on a project to support orphans. It is worshiped in the region.

"You will be put on a podium," she said, "there are all the formalities - the bow, the 'Your Royal Majesty', Ensuring that you're Taken Care Of."

from Detroit to Tamale

It is a difficult change for someone who is not familiar with prominence. But for Johnson the role feels very natural. "It represents peace, unity, hope and the connection of our past to the future," said the Dakpema, which was immediately impressed by Johnson when she visited his palace for the first time. "She is very popular in the Dagbon and high. People admire them."

Kennedy Johnson is not the first Zosimli Naa, which was enthroned by the DAKPema. Dr. Susan Herlin, an academic from Kentucky, was awarded the title in 1995 and died in 2014. Seven years later, Johnson became the next person who received the title from the Dakpema Palace.

"We thought they were the right choice due to their properties and their connection both to the Dagbon kingdom and to the diaspora," said the Dakpema. "With a queen who embodies both our kingdom of cultural heritage and strong connections to the world, we open the door to cultural exchange, investments and global awareness."

in November 2024 Johnson received Ghanaian citizenship. In the same month she was also included in the list of 100 most influential people of African descent (Mipad) for 2024.

"It has unfolded something that goes beyond my dreams," she said.

The "Swagger Queen"

Johnson is particularly popular with the young people of Tabale, which they call "Swagger Queen", due to their striking fashion taste that is full of colorful ghanaian fabrics.

But nobody admires them more than their own daughter, who is now 28 years old. "It is the story of a person who had to fight everything and was yet blessed by universe with everything," said D’Kiya. "You can say that you have seen everything when you see how your mother grows up without a family and then wins millions of people as their family."

As the daughter of Zosimli Naa, D’Kiya is now considered a princess. "I remember that I grew up and thought that maybe one day I will play a Disney princess," D’Kiya, who is known under her rap name Stunna Dior. "It is still difficult to understand."

And what does the teen version of Kennedy Johnson think about the current queen in Taangere? "I think she would be inspired," said Johnson. "If I would meet the young version today, she would know that she has to continue and push." ​​