400 Years Later...'Free-ish - Part 1: The Sankofa Journey (2021)

The four-part documentary HBCU Storytellers film series, 400 Years Later...'free-ish, explores the 400-year commemoration of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia in late August 1619. The films capture this epic milestone through the journey of fifteen HBCU students as they explore past and present race relations in the birthplace of American slavery. The documentaries follow the students in their efforts to promote racial healing and reconciliation as they grapple with Virginia's contentious history and the racial issues these monuments present. In "Part 1. The Sankofa Journey" Viewers are introduced to the students as they travel to Montgomery, Alabama for a tour of the Equal Justice Initiative's National Memorial for Peace and Justice, The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration, and The Rosa Parks Museum. Viewers will explore these powerful memorials and museums through the eyes of the students as they learn from educators and local community leaders about the importance of confronting our country's history of racial terror through truth telling. Students interview Nate Parker and Equal Justice Initiative founder, attorney/activist Bryan Stevenson, Esq. who provides them with valuable knowledge and insight about the transformative power of memorials as tools for racial healing in preparation for their film projects in Virginia.