AFRICANS AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE UNITED STATES A COMPARATIVE DISCUSSION

The documentary Africans and African-Americans was inspired by the need to create a visual medium developing beneficial partnerships through promoting understanding between Africans living in the United States. The FOUR part documentary series Africans and African-Americans shows some of the cultural, intellectual and spiritual journeys of a people with a common history and origin.

Many documentaries have been created to highlight African-American issues and many more have exported Africa through its wildlife, peoples and misfortunes yet there has been little attempt to weave stories based on the diversity and richness of both cultures. My hope is that the series Africans and African-Americans will promote dialogue and increase the spirit of understanding, friendship, solidarity and cooperation amongst Africans in the Diaspora.

The idea for this documentary was born in a cafeteria amidst a casual conversation between myself and a friend - the discussion evolved into an explorative analysis of racism and it's effects on the African and African-American communities, respectively. Engaged by my own curiosities, we concluded that the discussion needed to continue and broaden - I left the cafeteria knowing I had a story to tell.

The project's success is in it's affiliation to the local communities in New York, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The documentaries are a glimpse into the interactions between Africans and African-Americans. It is important to underscore that the participants in the documentary Africans and African-Americans are educated, middle-class Africans and African-Americans whose visibility has been either under-represented or overshadowed by the media onslaught on crime and drugs within the Black community. This vibrant cross-section of the Black community dialogue in an uncensored, raw and thought-provocative manner that is quite timely.

Titled: Africans and African-Americans, this documentary project interviews middle class Africans and African-Americans in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York. As a native of Kenya, the project's creator, Dr. Wairimu Kiambuthi, former media consultant at Columbia University, is intrigued by the parallels and differences among Africans and African-Americans. She has been privileged enough to sit on both sides of the fence for more than a decade. It is important to underscore that the participants are educated and middle class as the media often under-represents this vibrant cross-section of the Black community. Provocative and uncensored this dialogue is not only long overdue but quite timely. It combines footage from various African countries. The end product is series of FOUR half-hour documentaries.

The idea for this documentary was born in a most unexpected way. Ms. Kiambuthi says, "Not long ago, an African-American friend and I were sitting in the cafeteria at Teachers College. We were grabbing a moment just before classes and work. It was going to be a 'brain-candy' conversation, or so I thought. As we were sipping our tea, in a casual,observatory way, she pointed out that she thought Africans experience less racism or that we perhaps notice it less. I was jolted. Not because of her candid attitude but because as she began to elaborate on instances and interactions she had been a part of, I knew what she was saying was true. I walked away from that ten-minute commune knowing I had a story to tell."