What Is Black Beyond America?

Expanding representation of the African Diaspora. 

Black Beyond America was created in response to limited black representation in Film and Television. More often than not, Black characters on screen usually centre the African American experience. Consequently, Black individuals from other countries are often seen as caricatures, if they’re even seen at all. This limited understanding contributes to conflicts and misconceptions both in and outside of Black spaces. Examples include controversial comments from Samuel L Jackson in 2017, as well as Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche’s 2009 TED talk The Danger of a Single Story.

The point of the docu series is to not only counteract ignorance, but to also shine light on the nuances of a diaspora that has existed for centuries. Be they Black Parisians or the Black population in Brazil – a country with the second largest Black population in the world.

Each video aims to emphasize a different person or region of the African diaspora. To give a platform to those that are often ignored on both a local and international level. It aims to inspire each viewer to dig deeper. To strive to learn more about the nuances of the world they live in.

Short Term Goals:

• Tailoring each specific video to the individuals in questions (e.g. family photos, design elements that are specifically from their country)
• Local screenings and Q&A’s with panel members from previous videos.
• Local screenings and Q&A’s in partnership with film companies and organisations.

Long Term Goals:

• Securing funding in the form of grants, sponsorship, fundraising and cash prizes from film festivals (funds will be used for production, travel and paying the crew involved).
  
• Filming videos that go directly to the countries in question
  (examples include but are not limited to):
• Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Brussels, Belgium
• Karnataka, India
• Dublin, Ireland
• Accra, Ghana
• Bahia, Brazil
  
• Having ongoing, international screenings in partnership with local organizations
  (examples include but are not limited to):
• Jelani Women -  New York, NY
• Gal-Dem Magazine – London, England
• Bad & Boujee  - Vienna, Austria

Four videos have been created thus far. The proceeds from t-shirt sales would go towards filming what would be the first batch of international videos in the UK. After creating an Indiegogo campaign, I attempted to film at the end of last year, but unfortunately had to postpone due to sudden conflicts in scheduling.

With everything going on in the world, I completely understand if buying a t shirt or a donation isn’t possible. Please condenser joining our mailing list, where you’ll receive updates on the series whenever they arrive (we promise not to spam you!).

Thank you for taking the time to read this.