Being held accountable for tweets 10 years ago was painful but necessary - Afua Anku

In the wake of talks about Cancel culture, one will wonder whether it is fair to completely cancel someone for their past sins. Well, at least the sins committed by Afua Anku about a decade ago were not taken lightly after an account on Twitter pulled up what many described as racist tweets against Somalis and Jews.

Speaking for the first time after the incident in April 2019, Afua Anku recounted how painful that experience was and the lessons she had drawn. "I said some unprintable things about Somalis. The sad thing about it is, it wasn't only about Somalis. I was simply problematic online, saying anything about anybody. I had no boundaries. Consequences caught up with me ten years later."

When asked whether she felt it was fair to be entirely canceled and not shown mercy for something she did a decade ago, Afua opined that "I didn't think it was fair to be condemned, when I had done a lot of work on myself, but I didn't hold myself accountable. I didn't come out to say that I tweeted these things years ago and have changed. I thought my work spoke for me, but no, I had to apologize to Somalis, and I didn't. That was the mistake."

Ms. Afua Anku, who was listed among Canada's 100 Black Thriving women in 2019, shared the most important lessons drawn from that experience. She explained that " After being canceled, I navigated twitter with Grace. I don't automatically jump on people. I'm not morally superior to anybody. I am human just like you, and I'm on this journey to be a better person just like you."

Ms. Afua started a podcast titled THE JOURNEY early this year, where she shares stories of her past and how she's still on a journey of self-discovery and to be the best version of herself.