JAYFORCE

I was fortunate enough to meet Dr. Henry Louis Gates while he was speaking at my university years ago. Good to see he continues the great yet difficult discussions regarding race by putting them in the forefront. I’m very excited about this PBS piece that airs later today at 8pm called ‘Black In Latin America’. Having visited many spanish speaking countries I can recall one person, who was much darker than I am, telling me that they were Latin but denied that they were also Black. I looked at the woman like she was crazy. Immediately I thought to myself that if I had the time & resources I would love to do a piece on this very particular duality of race.

“Black in Latin America is the third of a trilogy that began in 1999 with the broadcast of Professor Gates’s first series for public television, Wonders of the African World, an exploration of the relationship between Africa and the New World, a story he continued in 2004 with America Beyond the Color Line, a report on the lives of modern-day African Americans. Black In Latin America, premiering nationally Tuesdays April 19, 26 and May 3, 10, 2011 at 8 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings), examines how Africa and Europe came together to create the rich cultures of Latin America and the Caribbean”