Guardian Africa correspondent Jason Burke is reporting Ethiopian federal forces have reportedly used heavy artillery to bombard Mekelle, the capital of the northern region of Tigray, with shells hitting the outskirts of the city of 500,000 people.
Ethiopia has been plagued by ethnic violence since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. In January 2020, Ahmed relaxed some of the anti-terrorism restrictions on political gatherings, broadening reforms introduced under his administration. Ahmed repealed the 2009 anti-terrorism act, and introduced new legislation that states: “If the disruption of public services was caused by a legally recognized protest, meetings or job strikes, the act will not be taken as a terrorist act,” essentially giving people the right to organize and protest. Since becoming Prime Minister, Ahmed has made peace with Eritrea, freed political prisoners, and opened up the economy to foreign investment.
In early November of this year, the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) was blamed for an attack on Oromia state, leading to dozens of murders. Residents said a meeting was called by 60 OLA members who began shooting at the attendees. Those who were unable to flee, mainly women, children and the elderly, were dragged to a school yard and killed. Livestock was stolen and houses were burned to the ground. Amnesty International reports those who were killed were members of the Amhara ethnic group. Amharas are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group traditionally inhabiting parts of the northwest Highlands of Ethiopia. Prime Minister Ahmed is a member of the Amhara ethnic group.
Today’s violence comes almost a week after Prime Minister Ahmed, told the leadership and forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the ruling party in the restive region, to surrender or face an assault on their stronghold. Ahmed’s administration has denied accusations they are behind the bombings. Burke reports:
“Billene Seyoum, a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office, denied the claim, saying ‘the Ethiopian National Defense Forces do not have a mission to bombard its own city and people’.’[Mekelle] remains one of Ethiopia’s key cities and the efforts to bring to justice the criminal clique will not entail discriminatory ‘bombardment’ as alluded by TPLF and their propagandists,’ Seyoum said.”
Screen shot of Archbishop Wilton Gregory. (Screen shot of video)
Archbishop Wilton Gregory has made history as the first African-American in history to be elevated to the College of Cardinals by the Catholic Church. Citing an ongoing concern for Catholics from historically disenfranchised communities, Pope Francis elevated Gregory and 12 other men, including men from Rwanda, Brunei, Chile and the Philippines. Because of Coronavirus concerns, two of the bishops were not in Rome for the ceremony, another first in church history, according to Vatican News.
Daniel Burke and Delia Gallagher of CNN write:
“Gregory, 72, already the highest-ranking African-American Catholic in US history, told CNN this week that he has been praying, writing homilies and letters to well-wishers, and reflecting on his new role. ‘It’s been a time to thank God for this unique moment in my life and in the life of the church in the United States,” Gregory said. ‘I hope it’s a sign to the African American community that the Catholic Church has a great reverence, respect and esteem for the people, for my people of color.'”
Gregory’s elevation to Cardinal means he will be one of the Pope’s closest advisers and one of only 120 pontiff’s who will elect the next Pope. A Chicago native, Gregory was not born Catholic but converted while attending parochial school. He served as a Bishop in Belleville, IL and Atlanta and Archbishop in Washington, DC before being elevated to College of Cardinals.
The Pope prayed for the new Cardinals to stay on the Lord’s road.
The 2020 Election season has brought about a number of firsts. In addition to having Kamala Harris elected the first Black and South Asian and woman Vice-President of a major party in the United States, Mauree Turner, a Democrat, made history as the first nonbinary state legislator elected to Congress in history. Turner is a Black, Queer Muslim state legislator representing Oklahoma’s state House 88th district. Kelsie Smith of CNN writes:
‘I have a lot of feelings about tonight,’ said Turner in a Twitter post on Tuesday night. ‘But overall, I’m grateful for HD88 granting me this opportunity.’ She posted the tweet with an image saying, ‘The real work begins. The future is now.'”
There are currently four known genderqueer or nonbinary identified elected officials serving in the US and five public LGBTQ elected officials in Oklahoma. Turner is the first nonbinary person to be named to a state legislature.
BBC is reporting Ghana’s former president Jerry “J.J. Rawlings has died after a brief illness at a hospital in Accra. Rumors are swirling that the charasmatic leader who came to power after leading two coups and then being elected President twice, died of complications from Covid-19, although an official cause of death has not been announced.
Jerry John Rawlings was born on June 22, 1947, in Accra to James Ramsey John, a Scottish chemist, and Victoria Agbotui. He was educated at Achimota, a prestigious boarding school in the British model in Accra. He enlisted in the Air Force, where he excelled in airmanship, and reached the rank of flight lieutenant.
Although he was a Socialist during his early political career, Rawlings eventually made free market reforms, eventually becoming a founding father of democracy in Ghana. Following his presidency, Rawlings campaigned for African Nations to have their debts forgiven.
Photo: Twitter Screenshot
Several African Presidents expressed grief while announcing Rawlings death on Twitter.
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is from a rival political party and currently running against Rawlings’ wife Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, announced seven days of national mourning.
“A great tree has fallen, and Ghana is poorer for this loss,” he said in a statement.
African Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat said “Africa has lost a stalwart of Pan-Africanism and a charismatic continental statesman”.
While Liberian President George Weah said “Ghana, Liberia and Africa will miss a great leader”.
“Liberia remembers his immense contribution to the attainment and sustainment of peace during our dark days of our own history,” he added in a tweet.
Rawlins is survived by his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, a candidate for president in next month’s elections; his daughters Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, Yaa Asantewaa Rawlings and Amina Rawlings; and his son, Kimathi Rawlings.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) top left, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Attorney and TV Personality Star Jones (bottom left) and Stroll to the Polls Creative Force Maisha Y. Land talk what Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris means to them. (Photos: Google Images)
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) top left, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Attorney and TV Personality Star Jones (bottom left) and Stroll to the Polls Creative Force Maisha Y. Land talk what Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris means to them. (Photos: Google Images)
Writing for BET News, The Burton Wire’s founder & editor-in-chief Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D. talks to some of the African American community’s most prized members about the election of Senator Kamala Harris as Vice-President of the United States, making her the first woman, African American (Jamaican descent), South Asian (Tamil), HBCU graduate (Howard University) and member of a historically Black Greek Letter organization (Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.) to hold the office. Breaking all kinds of barriers on her upward political trajectory, Madam Vice-President-Elect is being lauded for her courage, tenacity, ambition and love of this country. Check out what some of Harris’ colleagues and Sorors have to say:
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA)
“From the start, Senator Harris has served as an inspiration to not just women, girls, and people of color, but to people all over the world who now see themselves in her and her story. As the first Black woman and South Asian- American to be a major party’s vice-presidential nominee, her achievement is historic and I have no doubt that she will continue to be unapologetic, steadfast, and of course – ambitious, in her work for the people. The truth of the matter is that our nation is at an inflection point and in need of compassionate and dignified leaders. Senator Harris is that and so much more, and I am so very pleased to have supported her in this fight.” —Rep. Maxine Waters
Star Jones (Attorney and Talk Show Host)
“My sister, Kamala Harris, has stepped into history [today]. Everyone knows that Senator Kamala Harris will be the first Black and South Asian woman to be Vice President of the United States. However, we in the Black community know that Kamala is also the first alum of an HBCU (Howard University), member of the “Divine Nine,” my soror of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and a Black Women’s Friendship/Service Organization (“The Links”) and member of a Black professional organization like the National Bar Association. As vice president of the United States, Kamala will be bringing the entire village of Black Excellence to the table!” —Star Jones(AKA)
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Ma)
“Kamala’s historic nomination and her historic election is a recognition of the skill, passion, and determination that have made her a trailblazer throughout her career in public service. It is also a testament to the central role that Black women have played in the Democratic Party for generations, and a long-overdue reflection of the contributions they have made to this country. And for the next generation of girls of color, it is a reaffirmation that there is no limit to their ambition, no ceiling on their dreams.” —Rep. Ayanna Pressley
Maisha Y. Land, Creator, Stroll to the Poll Viral Stroll and Video
“Black women have always been pioneers, breakers of ceilings, cutters of paths, inventors of solutions, pavers of futures and bearers of light even in the midst of dimness put in place by those historically more empowered in an attempt to stop us. Kamala Harris becoming the first, Black woman to serve as vice president, means more than a moment in Black history or U.S. history. It represents a moment of light in world history for me; a flame reminding us all that Black women of the world have always been worthy of leading the way and will continue to do so.” — Maisha Y. Land (AKA)
Andrew Gillum, Former Mayor of Tallahassee (FL)
“Vice President-elect Kamala Harris represents the best of who we are as a people. The ancestors are rejoicing as they look down on the progress that has been made—all the while pushing us to go further, fight harder, and to never give up. The battle for justice, equality, and fairness requires that we have inflection points and moments such as these to celebrate our progress. The election of VP-elect Harris now becomes one of those seminal moments in Black and American history that will challenge the generations to follow and to climb even higher.” —Andrew Gillum
To hear what Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC), Congresswoman Val Demings (D-Fla.), Baltimore City State Attorney General Marilyn Mosby (AKA), Georgia 5th Congressional District Congresswoman-elect Nikema Williams (AKA), the Honorable Virgie Rollins and the Reverend Leah Daughtry have to say about Harris’ historic win as part of the Biden 2020 Democratic ticket , then visit BET News.
Follow The Burton Wire on Twitter @TheBurtonWire. Follow Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D. on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Tuesday, November 3, 2020. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Tuesday, November 3, 2020. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Writing for Courier Newsroom, The Burton Wire‘s founder & editor-in-chief Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., discusses how Black women continue to have hope for democracy in the face of despair while living in an anti-Black and sexist country. Burton writes:
“Part of being Black and a woman in America is having hope in the face of despair and pressing on against the anti-Black and sexist establishment that actively works against our progress. There are so many examples of this type of leadership and resiliency: Sojourner Truth, Barbara Jordan, Carol Mosely Braun, Shirley Chisholm, and others.
As a college professor and writer, I often deconstruct topics and issues to put them back together so they make sense. Because of my areas of expertise—intersectionality (race, class, gender, sexuality) and media—I can be very cynical and often see the world through a dark lens, sometimes to the chagrin of those around me. Yet and still, it is because of my deep understanding of those issues and how they work in this country that I still have hope for democracy.
Part of having hope is celebrating the wins, however small they may seem. Having a presidential race that wasn’t a landslide for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is disappointing. But I also realize that in the United States, that landslide could have very well gone the other way because of all of the work around issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality we haven’t done.
In Georgia, there is still so much to celebrate in this election. Voters in coastal Georgia ousted District Attorney Jackie Johnson, who failed to appropriately investigate or initially charge anyone in the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery earlier this year. Independent Keith Higgins defeated Johnson, a Republican, 66%-34%. This is particularly noteworthy considering Johnson was initially running unopposed in this election…”
Senator Kamala Harris will become the United States of America’s first African American woman elected Vice-President in the history of the United States, breaking an abundance of societal boundaries to rise to the second most powerful position in the land.
Harris, who along with President-Elect Joseph Biden, survived a contentious campaign period marked by rampant racism, sexism, abuse and false allegations lobbed by incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump, who still refuses to concede the presidential race. Post-election, President Trump and some of his fellow high-profile Republican politicians like Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham created and participated in a widespread media campaign to mar the election, claiming voter fraud and coining the term “illegal vote.”
Longtime American “Red” (Republican) states like Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona turned Blue (Democratic), helping the Biden/Harris team and others seeking victory at the local, state and national levels of politics claim victory.
Another
Juana Summers of the BBC writes:
“Harris, 56, will bring a legion of firsts to the vice presidency: A daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, she will be the first woman, the first Black person, the first Indian American and the first Asian American to hold the office. She will also be the first graduate of a historically Black college and first member of a Black sorority to do so.”
BlackFilmAndTV.com‘s Wilson Morales is reporting more than 50 film and television projects written, produced, directed and or starring Black talent in prominent roles are currently running or are launching between now and winter. Morales writes:
“When the pandemic hit back in March and theaters nationwide and internationally started to shut down, streaming platforms and VOD became the home for a boatload of films, namely independent films. Most of the big budgeted studio films have been shifted to 2021 in the hopes that a vaccine would come in time for theaters to be open at 50% capacity. It’s October now and while some theaters are open, with the exception of New York City and California, not enough folks are flocking to see films at a big screen with cushy seats and popcorn. With Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Apple TV+, Disney+, Peacock and HBO Max to name a few, a great deal of films have found homes for filmmakers and talent to be discovered and and some careers reignited.”
Check out a few of TBW’s favorites:
The 40 Year-Old Version
Release Date: October 9, 2020
Studio: Netflix
Producers: Lena Waithe, Jordan Fudge, Radha Blank, Inuka Bacote-Capiga, Jennifer Semler, and Rishi Rajani
Director: Radha Blank
Screenwriters: Radha Blank
Starring: Radha Blank, Peter Kim, Oswin Benjamin, Imani Lewis, Haskiri Velazquez, Antonio Ortiz, TJ Atoms, Reed Birney, and Jacob Ming-Trent
Radha, a down-on-her-luck NY playwright, is desperate for a breakthrough before 40. But when she foils what seems like her last shot at success, she’s left with no choice but to reinvent herself as rapper RadhaMUSPrime. The Forty-Year-Old Version follows Radha as she vacillates between the worlds of Hip Hop and theater on a quest to find her true voice.
Charm City Kings
Release Date: October 9, 2020
Distributor: HBO Max
Producer: Caleeb Pinkett, Clarence Hammond and Marc Bienstock
Director: Angel Manuel Soto
Screenwriters: Sherman Payne, with a story by Chris Boyd & Kirk Sullivan and Barry Jenkins
Starring: Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Meek Mill, Will Catlett, Donielle Hansley, Kezii Curtis, Chino, Lakeyria “Wheelie Queen” Doughty and Teyonah Parris.
Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith and James Lassiter executive produced through their company Overbrook Entertainment.
In the film, Mouse (Di’Allo Winston) desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, an infamous group of Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader, Blax (Meek Mill), takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds himself torn between the straight-and-narrow and a road filled with fast money and violence.
Freedia Got a Gun
Release Date: October 15, 2020
Studio: Peacock & World of Wonder
Producers: Fenton Bailer & Randy Barbato (World of Wonder), Chris McKim
Director: Chris McKim
Starring: Big Freedia
FREEDIA GOT A GUNdives into this country’s centuries-long struggle with gun violence and its ties back to race and toxic masculinity. Devastated after learning her brother Adam was murdered, New Orleans bounce legend Big Freedia uses her platform to raise awareness about the complexities of gun violence. As Freedia shares her personal journey from growing up gay in the projects through Hurricane Katrina and chasing her musical dreams, she delves deep into the first-hand experiences she and the community have had with gun violence, seeking to uncover the causes behind it.
Check out the complete list here. What are your favorites on this list? Let us know on Twitter@TheBurtonWire.
This post was curated by Nsenga K. Burton, founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual.
WORLD Channel, a national public media broadcast, online and social media platform with news and documentaries humanizing complex issues from across the globe, is presenting Race in America a series of iconic documentaries and events exploring historical and cultural stories about race and civil rights in America.
Beginning in October 2020, WORLD Channel, in partnership with PBS, will broadcast a series of documentaries that examine the civil rights movement in America, reconciling the history that led to the nation’s current racial reckoning. From films such as AMERICAN EXPERIENCE’sThe Murder of Emmett Till and AMERICAN MASTERS’ Miles Davis: The Birth of Cool to Driving While Black, the films chronicle the history of Black Americans as well as the cultural and political forces which have shaped today’s world. The films also will be available for streaming at worldchannel.org.
“Public media has always been dedicated to sharing the stories of the people who shaped our world. That has provided an incredibly rich archive of stories about Black Americans,” said Chris Hastings, executive producer at WORLD Channel at GBH in Boston. “At WORLD Channel, we want to bring these films back, to share these stories with new audiences across the country, especially at a time when we need individuals to embrace the differences that make us one country.”
Race in America films will air nationwide on Saturday nights at 8 pm ET/ 9 pm PT from October through March 2021. The featured documentaries will include:
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The Murder of Emmett Till
First aired in January 2003, The Murder of Emmett Till takes viewers back 65 years to August 1955, when a Black 14-year-old whistled at a white woman in a grocery store in Money, Mississippi. Emmett Till, a teen from Chicago, didn’t understand that he had broken the unwritten laws of the Jim Crow South until three days later, when two white men dragged him from his bed in the dead of night, beat him brutally and then shot him in the head. The murder and the trial horrified the nation and the world and was a spark that helped mobilize the Civil Rights movement. Streaming now at worldchannel.org >.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: Freedom Riders
From May 2011, Freedom Riders is the powerful, harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 Black and white Americans risked their lives for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws in order to test and challenge a segregated interstate travel system, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism. Streaming now at worldchannel.org.
Driving While Black: Race, Space and Place in America
This 2020 feature-length documentary explores the role of the automobile in the lives of African Americans in the early twentieth century. The film chronicles a crucial and transformative period in American racial, cultural and social history, drawing on a rich archive of material from the period — including photographs, advertisements, road signs, maps, letters and legal records — along with riveting oral histories and the on-camera insights of scholars, writers, musicians, artists, religious leaders and ordinary American travelers. Airs October 17, 2020 at 8 pm ET/ 9 pm PT
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: Freedom Summer
The 2014 film Freedom Summer tells the story of the summer of 1964 in Mississippi where less than seven percent of African Americans were registered to vote and the segregationist white establishment was prepared to use any means necessary to keep them away from the polls and out of elected office. For ten weeks that summer, white students from the North joined activists on the ground for a massive effort that would do what had been impossible so far: force the media and the country to take notice of the shocking violence and massive injustice taking place in Mississippi. Airs October 24, 2020 at 8 pm ET/ 9 pm PT
John Lewis – Get in the Way: The Journey of John Lewis
The first major documentary biography of John Lewis, Get in the Way is a riveting, highly personalized narrative of an epic chapter in U.S. history. The film follows the journey of the civil rights hero, congressman, and human rights champion. From his role as one of the original Freedom Riders to his position as a U.S. Congressman, Lewis stood up to injustice wherever he found it. Airs October 31, 2020 at 8 pm ET/ 9 pm PT
The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross
Noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., recounts the full trajectory of African-American history in this groundbreaking six-part series that explores the evolution of the African-American people, as well as the multiplicity of cultural institutions, political strategies and religious and social perspectives they developed — forging their own history, culture and society against unimaginable odds. Commencing with the origins of slavery in Africa, the series moves through five centuries of remarkable historic events right up to the present. Airs Saturdays from November 7-21, 2020 at 8 pm ET/ 9 pm PT
AMERICAN MASTERS: Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
First airing earlier this year, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool is a deep dive into the world of a beloved musical giant. The Grammy-nominated film takes a hard look at the mythology that surrounds the legend of Miles Davis, one of the most innovative, influential and respected figures in music. Airs November 28, 2020 at 8 pm ET/ 9 pm PT
Reconstruction: America After the Civil War
From 2019, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., presents a four-hour documentary series, exploring the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction and revolutionary social change. The twelve years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era witnessed a seismic shift in the meaning and makeup of our democracy, with millions of former slaves and free Black people seeking out their rightful place as equal citizens under the law. Airs Saturdays from December 5-12, 2020 at 8 pm ET/ 9 pm PT
AMERICAN MASTERS: Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
First premiering in 2017, Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise traces Dr. Angelou’s incredible journey, shedding light on the untold aspects of her life. From her upbringing in the Depression-era South and her early performing career to her work with Malcolm X in Ghana and her many writing successes, including her inaugural poem for President Bill Clinton, the film reveals hidden facets of her life during some of America’s most defining moments. Airs December 19, 2020 at 8 pm ET/ 9 pm PT
GREAT PERFORMANCES: Twilight: Los Angeles
The film adaptation of Anna Deavere Smith’s play Twilight: Los Angeles first premiered in 2001. Offering an unflinching look at the fallout from the 1992 Los Angeles riots following the Rodney King trial verdict, the film continues to reverberate powerfully today, giving voice to 40 real-life characters that spoke to her in hundreds of interviews. Airs December 26, 2020 at 8 pm ET/ 9 pm PT
Screen shot of Far From Casablanca, 2020 ACCIFF Best Cinematography Winner Yousseff Rhanem.
Collage of 2020 AFCCIFF Award winners. (Photo: NKB)
The 2020 AfroComicCon Virtual Short Film Festival took place Saturday, October 24 at 7 a.m. PST/10 a.m. EST as part of the larger “AFROCOMICCON,” which is the premiere comic con event for people of color and the African diaspora dedicated to showcasing talent, creators and content produced by people of African descent. Normally held in the San Francisco Bay area, the “CON” was held virtually due to COVID-19 constraints. Viewers were able to watch the films on AfroComicCon’s YouTube page and Black Press USA”s YouTube channel. The film festival kicked off with an interview with iconic Black speculative fiction writer Tananarive Due, followed by screenings of films by the finalists, a discussion with two of the festival judges Carlton Hargro (20th Place Media) and Ronda Rocha Penrice (AAFCA) and an announcement of the winners.
The festival winners were:
Best Film and Best Director: Outcast by Royce Adkins
Screen shot from Outcast by Royce Adkins, 2020 AfroComicCon Virtual Film Festival Best Film and Best Director Winner.
Best Cinematography – Far From Casablanca by Youssef Rhanem
Screen shot of Far From Casablanca, 2020 ACCIFF Best Cinematography Winner Youssef Rhanem.
Steven Russell was awarded second place in the Best Film and Best Cinematography categories for his film, The Dark Strums, respectively.
Screen shot of Steven Russell’s “The Dark Strums,” 2020 AFCCIFF 2nd place winner for Best Film and Best Cinematography.
The audience award winner is What Could Have Been by Semmi Cole:
Screen shot of What Could Have Been by Semmi Cole, audience award winner of the 2020 AFCCIFF (Virtual).
All finalists will receive gifts from AfroComicCon sponsor Ultimate Wireless (Follow on IG @Ultimate_Wireless_llc). Top festival winners including the audience award winner will receive trophies provided by NNPA/BlackPress USA (Follow on Twitter @NNPA_BlackPress). The Best Director/Best Film winner will also receive a MasterClass gift certificate for an annual membership compliments of The Burton Wire (@TheBurtonWire on IG or Twitter) and a $750 cash prize from NNPA/Black Press USA. The Best Cinematography winner will also receive a $500 cash prize. The 2nd place Best Cinematography winner will receive a gift certificate to B&H Photo.
Film festival director Nsenga Burton hosted discussions with finalists like Natalie Cooke and winners Steven Russell, Youssef Rhanem and Royce Adkins.
Filmmaker Royce Adkins discusses his award-winning film Outcast with Nsenga Burton, festival director of AFCCIFF. Adkins won the 2020 Best Film and Best Director Awards.
In addition to the film festival, there are over 50 panels and events for virtual attendees. Check out the full 2020 AfroComicCon at AfroComicCon.org. AfroComicCon was founded by Michael James and Hally Bellah-Guther.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on Twitter or IG @TheBurtonWire or @Ntellectual.
