When Air Force One touches down in Ghana on Friday evening, it's sure to be another goosebump moment of the Obama presidency. The rich symbolism in Barack Obama, the son of a Kenyan immigrant, visiting Africa as the President of the United States, and Michelle Obama, the descendent of enslaved Africans, going as the First Lady, holds significant weight for Black people around the world. Amid the anticipated media narrative, however, of Ghana excitedly welcoming the first Black President on his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa, many are also wondering about the substance.

"People make a mistake and think just his going to Africa and being on the ground is sufficient," says Nicole Lee, executive director of TransAfrica Forum, a foreign policy organization focused on Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. "There's also a notion that because Obama is an African-American President that he will have a natural affinity toward the people of Africa. That may be true, but the question is: Will that natural affinity be demonstrated through real concrete policy changes?"

While President Obama has revealed little about his Africa policy to date, his choice to visit Ghana—a country that has undergone peaceful democratic elections, even with razor-thin margins in its last presidential contest—gives us some indication. Calling himself "a big believer that Africans are responsible for Africa" in a recent interview with AllAfrica.com, he said he wants to highlight democracy, good governance and strong accountable institutions as being the key to development.