by Written by Sulwa Siraj
The City of Dallas Black Employee Support Team (BEST) convened a panel at Dallas City Hall to kick off the tenth anniversary of the African Film Festival (TAFF), which is held there every year.
Before the concert began, Dallas-based African ensemble Bandan Koro performed traditional African drumming and dancing, which left both guests and passersby in wonder.
In her opening remarks, Danielle McClelland, interim president of BEST, stated that today’s conversation is not a typical Juneteenth program.
The event, titled “Connecting Our Continents, Telling Our Stories,” aimed to unite African filmmakers and local leaders in a potent discussion on overcoming the gap between Black Americans and African immigrants.
In a pre-panel interview, McClelland described Dallas’s sizable African immigrant group as being very involved but frequently cut off from the African American community. This initiative is an effort to close that gap and raise awareness that North Texas is home to a thriving and robust African population that has much to contribute.
Monica Tetteh, Dallas Parks & Recreation’s manager of digital marketing, moderated the discussion. Multimedia executive Alhagie Manka, TAFF community liaison Lenora Casmore, investment advisor Robert Muruli, former Africa liaison for the city of Dallas Regina Hill Onyeibe, Liberian actor and producer Vivian Omoke, and visionary filmmaker and TAFF founder Chijindu KC Kelechi Eke were among the guests.
KC, who established TAFF in Dallas a decade ago, explained how the festival was sparked by his own experience.
Here in Dallas, I noticed an increasing number of African immigrants as well as the unspoken, somewhat peculiar bond between African Americans and Africans. KC stated. In order to reconcile different cultures, I started looking for ways to create platforms. We intended for this to serve as a forum for objective dialogue and improved mutual understanding.
Every panelist underlined that cultural programming and movies are more than just amusement. Omoke discussed the effectiveness of storytelling as a means of understanding people and recovering one’s own identity.
“Telling our stories is really important,” she remarked. It also teaches us to respect other people’s traditions by sharing our stories publicly.
In a similar vein, Casmore discussed how movies might help Black Americans and Africans recognize one another and find themselves in each other’s narratives.
Film allows you to express not only your culture but also your hardships. “Casmore said.” You notice that some of the same issues that are occurring in America are also being experienced by people throughout the world.
Even if the panel was only the start, the atmosphere in the room gave the impression that its influence would last. In an effort to spread dialogue throughout Dallas and beyond, TAFF screenings went on until the end of the week.
According to McClelland, a good story is a good story. And regardless of where home is, we all have the same human tale.
Images: TMN/Destiny Kombe-Kajue
Through UNT’s Emerging Journalists Program, Sulwa Siraj is an intern with Texas Metro News. She likes to study psychology and write poetry.
