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The Yasuke Reclamation: Moving the African Samurai From Colonial Novelty to Global South Hero

The story of Yasuke, the African samurai, has become a global Rorschach test. For Hollywood, he is a box-office premise. For gamers, a controversial character.

But for those of us engaged in global Black cinema, he represents a far more urgent question: Who has the right to tell our stories — and from what soil must those stories grow?

The Yasuke Reclamation: Moving the African Samurai From Colonial Novelty to Global South Hero

The story of Yasuke, the African samurai, has become a global Rorschach test. For Hollywood, he is a box-office premise. For gamers, a controversial character.

But for those of us engaged in global Black cinema, he represents a far more urgent question: Who has the right to tell our stories — and from what soil must those stories grow?

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INTERVIEW: Walking the Path with Mandla Dube: Kalushi/Makeba/Yasuke

“That’s the thing about Mandla: his life is always rooted somewhere in the land, history, and struggle, even when he’s jetting between Johannesburg, Bologna, and Tokyo.”

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The Michelle Materre Collection
The Black Film Center & Archive (BFCA) presents a series of special programs celebrating its acquisition of the collection of renowned distributor, programmer, and educator Michelle Materre (1954–2022). Founded in 1981 at Indiana University, the BFCA is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and making accessible films and related materials by... Read more
Niyah’s Multiverse: Chicago’s Afrofuturist Lineage from Sun Ra to Adler Planetarium

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved father, brother, partner and uncle Menelik Shabazz, age 67.

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Memorial: Menelik Shabazz 1952-2021

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved father, brother, partner and uncle Menelik Shabazz, age 67.

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REFLECTION: A Response to The BBC’s Moral Maze On Diversity: Part 2
AKA Why I No Longer Want To Speak about Race & Diversity To the BFI (and all the other White People that provide public funding for filmmakers in the UK) or Any Of My White Producer friends Part 2 Several weeks ago I wrote an article about race and... Read more
REFLECTION: A Response to The BBC’s Moral Maze On Diversity
AKA Why I No Longer Want To Speak about Race & Diversity To the BFI (and all the other White People that provide public funding for filmmakers in the UK) or Any Of My White Producer friends: After ‘working ‘ in the film and television industry for some time... Read more
Decolonizing Mammy
Warning: In this analysis of the Tate Taylor film Ma starring Octavia Spencer, the post contains spoilers. This September, Harlem rapper Azealia Banks took to Instagram to disparage plus-size singer Lizzo shortly after her single Truth Hurts hit number one on the Billboard charts. “Lmao the fact that the... Read more
REFLECTION: Black Power Hollywood Style
Will African American directors’ breakthrough into mainstream filmmaking change Hollywood or will Hollywood change them? Director and Oakland, California native Ryan Coogler infused a seemingly unlikely homage to the Black Panther Party into the Marvel universe in last year’s runaway blockbuster hit Black Panther. Setting the film’s opening scene... Read more