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."
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