THE AFRICAN DIASPORA GLOBAL CONFERENCE

presents

JOHN HENRIK CLARKE: A GREAT AND MIGHTY WALK

A Feature-Length Documentary by St.Clair Bourne

Executive Produced and Narrated by Wesley Snipes

TUESDAY, 7PM AT THE HILTON HOTEL

THIS SCREENING IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

This provocative feature documentary profiles the life and times of the noted African-American historian, scholar and Pan African activist John Henrik Clarke known as the Father of Black Studies. Born in Union Springs, Alabama in 1915, Clarke has been a central figure in the African world since the 1930’s.

He was an advisor to Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, a confidant of Malcolm X in the 1960’s and has since evolved as the leading proponent of an Afrocentric view of history and culture.

A vocal critic of Eurocentric education, Clarke designed the Black and Puerto Rican Studies program at the City University of New York. He was Professor Emeritus of African World History in the Department of Africana and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University.

Clarke’s opinions continue to stir heated debate in and outside the African-American community for his Pan-African ideology, his criticism of Louis Farrakhan, and his description of Martin Luther King’s non-violent philosophy as “a good tactic but not a way of life“.

JOHN HENRIK CLARKE: A GREAT AND MIGHTY WALK explores the history and philosophy of this influential figure, and includes interviews with Clarke, along with rare archival footage and photographs. The musical score for the film includes music by the legendary percussionist Max Roach and saxophonist Yusef Lateef. The film has played on international film festival circuit, including the Toronto, the Carthage (Tunisia) and the Sundance Festivals.

St.Clair Bourne is a prolific and influential filmmaker, and one of the pioneers of contemporary African-American filmmaking. He is the award-winning producer, director and writer of some forty film and television productions, including has produced documentaries for PBS, NBC, BBC and National Geographic. Among his films are Making “Do The Right Thing”, In Motion: Amiri Baraka, The Black and The Green, Langston Hughes: The Dream Keeper’ and Let The Church Say Amen! Bourne has specialized in exploring African life both in the United States and internationally with an eye toward finding common links among people of African descent.

Bourne states that,”My films look at both the positive and negative aspects of my subjects. If you look beyond skin color, the themes always touch on universal experiences as well as the particular elements of life in the African diaspora.

Director: St.Clair Bourne

Executive Producer: Wesley Snipes

Producer: Kimiko Jackson

Writer: Lou Potter

Editor: Chris Fiore