- Dr. James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey
Founder of Achimota School
Asst. Vice Principal (1924 - 1927)
(b. 1875 - d. 1927)
“Only the Best is Good Enough for Africa.”
- Dr. James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey is one of the founders of Achimota
School and was the first Assistant Vice Principal. The other founders are Sir
Frederick Gordon Guggisberg, former governor of the Gold Coast (1919-
1927), and the Reverend Alexander G. Fraser, MA, CBE, the first Principal
of the School (1924 - 1935).
Anomabu & Livingstone College
Methodist School in Cape Coast.
In 1898, he left the Gold Coast to continue his education at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North
Carolina, and graduated at the top of his class with honors. He was later ordained an elder of the AME
Zion Church. In 1905, he married Miss Rose Douglass, an educationist, of Portsmouth, Virginia, and
they had four children - two boys, Kwegyir and Rudolph, and two girls, Abna and Rosebud. He
continued his education when he enrolled for postgraduate studies at Livingstone College. In 1912, he
graduated with a master’s degree and a Doctor of Divinity from Hood Theological Seminary. In 1914,
through a correspondence course, he earned a Doctor of Osteopathy degree from the International
College of Osteopathy in Elgin, Illinois.
Columbia University and the Phelps-Stokes Commission
In 1918, he enrolled in Columbia University, in the City of New York, with the goal of obtaining a
doctorate degree in Sociology and Economics. In 1920, he earned a Teaching certificate from Columbia
University. It was during this time that one of his professors at Columbia University who was a member
of the board of trustees of the Phelps-Stokes Fund recommended the inclusion of Dr. Aggrey as a
member of the Phelps-Stokes African Education Commission. In July 1920, Dr. Aggrey traveled to the
Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and several other African countries with members of the Phelps-
Stokes African Education Commission. The highlight of his visit was the reunion with his mother and
family and his installation as an Okyeame of Anomabu, a position that his late father had held. During
the visit to the Gold Coast, Dr. Aggrey met the newly appointed Governor, Sir Frederick Gordon
Guggisberg. Neither Guggisberg nor Aggrey realized how intertwined their lives would become. Dr
Aggrey returned to the US and in October 1922, Columbia University awarded him a Teaching Diploma
and Masters Degree. Finally in December 1923, he completed the course work for his doctorate degree
in Sociology and Economics.
Achimota College & School
In 1924, the Gold Coast’s colonial government approved the funding for the proposed Prince of Wales
College and School, now known as “Achimota School”. Dr Aggrey returned to the Gold Coast and
accepted a position as the school’s first Assistant Vice Principal. Dr. Aggrey helped supervise the
construction and equipping of Achimota School and it became his passion. Aggrey and the other
founders made personal sacrifices to realize their dream of the first co-educational institution in the
Gold Coast. They battled racism and harsh, often unfounded criticism. Dr. Aggrey even donated his
own books to fill the library shelves. “He and Reverend Fraser hammered nails when they required
hammering; they scrubbed floors and washed windows.”“* Dr. Aggrey campaigned vigorously for
women’s education at a time when the idea was not popular, and held the belief that “to educate a man
was to educate an individual”, while educating a woman had more far-reaching benefits to family and
community. This led to an increase in the number of places offered to girls by the College. Classes
commenced at Achimota School on February 27, 1926, and the school, then known as the “Prince of
Wales College and School” was formally opened by the Governor, Sir Guggisberg on January 28, 1927.
Dr. Aggrey’s Words of Wisdom and Legacy
- Dr. Aggrey returned to New York on June 16, 1927, to complete his
dissertation for his doctorate degree from Columbia University. He had
previously completed all the course work required for the doctorate degree.
Upon his return to the United States he addressed a number of gatherings
and his message stressed racial tolerance. His last word’s to an audience at
a Columbia University gathering on July 21, 1927, was “Maybe I shall be
standing by St. Peter when you come to the pearly gates and I shall say a
good word for you.”* On July 30, 1927, Dr. Aggrey died peacefully in New
York City. He was only 52 years old. He did not live long enough to see
Achimota School flourish and grow into its full glory.
- Achimota School’s crest, comprising the black and white piano keys, is
attributed to Dr. Aggrey. As he said, “You can play a tune of sorts on the
white keys, and you can play a tune of sorts on the black keys, but for
harmony, you must use both the black and the white.”
The Aggrey Memorial Chapel, Aggrey House, Aggrey Memorial School, and Livingstone College’s
Aggrey Student Union were all named in his honor. In November 2004, the State of North Carolina and
the City of Salisbury, North Carolina, both honored Dr. Aggrey and Mrs. Rose Aggrey for their
contributions to education in the State of North Carolina and the City of Salisbury by placing a historical
marker at their home.
The Aggrey Family
Dr. James Emmanuel Kwegyir Aggrey is survived by his son, Ambassador Orison Rudolph Aggrey, and
grandchildren. Ambassador Aggrey served as the U.S. Ambassador to Gambia, Senegal, and Romania
during the Carter Administration. Ambassador Aggrey still lives in Virginia. Dr. Aggrey’s granddaughter,
Mrs. Raemi Evans (oldest daughter of their daughter, Abna) and her husband, Fred Evans, currently live
in the home located near Livingstone College, Salisbury, North Carolina, that Dr. and Mrs. Aggrey lived
in and raised their children. They are also survived by three other granddaughters, Roxanne Aggrey
(Ambassador Aggrey’s daughter), Mrs. Harriet Graves (Virginia), and Dr. Carol Aggrey Lancaster-
Meeks (Salisbury, North Carolina) and several great grandchildren. Harriet and Carol are also Abna
Aggrey’s daughters.
Permission granted by Dr. Donald Brody: GREAT EPICS NEWSLETTER © Great Epic Books.
Sources:
1. Dr. Donal Brody
2. Cambridge University Library: Royal Commonwealth Society Library, J.E.K. Aggrey and A.G. Fraser,
Y30448S
3. Ward, William Ernest Frank (1965), ‘Fraser of Trinity and Achimota’, [Accra]: Ghana Universities Press
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 | |  | |  | |  |
