Independence Square (officially **Black Star Square**) is Ghana's great ceremonial ground in Accra, and the **Black Star Gate** stands at its heart — the monument crowned by a five-pointed black star, the symbol of African freedom that gave the square its name. **The Square.** Independence Square sits on the old polo grounds along the Gulf of Guinea coast, bounded by the Osu Castle area to the east and the sea to the south. It was commissioned by Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and completed in 1961 for Queen Elizabeth II's visit that year, though its defining moment came on **6 March 1957**, when Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African colony to win independence. The square holds three great monuments in a line: the **Independence Arch** (with the words "Freedom and Justice" and "AD 1957" on its faces), the **Black Star Gate**, and the **Memorial to the Unknown Soldier** at the western end. Its vast parade ground — one of the largest in the world — hosts Independence Day parades, military reviews, state funerals, papal masses and national celebrations. **The Black Star Gate.** The gate is a monumental archway structure, white-walled with black star emblems, standing as the formal entrance to the square. The black star is Marcus Garvey's symbol of African redemption, adopted by Nkrumah and carried onto Ghana's flag — a direct statement that Ghana's independence was a Pan-African event, not merely a national one. The gate bears the inscription of Ghana's motto, **"Freedom and Justice."** **Practical visits.** The square is open to the public and free to walk; it's a favourite for photographers at sunrise and sunset, when the sea light hits the white monuments. It sits close to the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the Arts Centre and Osu's Oxford Street, so it's easily combined with a day in central Accra. As with any open public space, go in daylight and keep valuables close. There's a proverb that fits the place: *"Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi"* — it is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten. The Black Star Gate is Ghana going back, again and again, to remember what 1957 meant — for us and for the continent.