Audiovisual
Co-director, producer and research. “Project Baquaqua’s videos.” Baquaqua Project. SSHRC. Canada (Since 2014).
Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua was born free and as many other Africans enslaved in the Americas had a hometown, a family and in his youth suffered from the violence of war. He was enslaved and exported through the slave close to Ouidah (Whydah) and sent to Brazil in a slave ship. After escaping slavery, he attended school at New York Central College, from where he wrote many letters to noted abolitionists. In 1854 he completed his autobiography in Chatham, which was published in Detroit. Baquaqua’s memories are a particularly important narrative of the African diaspora. As with other biographical accounts, it permits us to hear the voice of the individual beyond the the slavery context. Project Baquaqua provides the opportunity to imagine, understand and learn from the isolation of otherness that those called slaves had to endure through empathy and projection.
Researcher and producer. “Conjugal Slavery in War - CSiW.” P.I. Annie Bunting. York University. SSHRC, Canada (Since 2016).
This SSHRC-funded Partnership Grant (2015-2020) documents cases of so-called forced marriage in conflict situations, places this data in historical context, and impacts the international prosecution of crimes against humanity as well as local reparations programs for survivors of violence. With the central participation of community-based organizations in Africa, this project will strengthen individual’s and organizations’ capacity to prevent violence, and advance understanding of the use of conjugal slavery as a tool of war through evidence-based research.
Co-director and producer. “Digital Slavery Series.” Interview Series. SSHRC, Canada (Since 2017).
Interview series with scholars presenting new approaches on African studies and Digital Humanities.
Producer, co-director and co-organize. “Black Lives Matter - Contemporary and Historical Perspectives on Black Liberation and Activism” York University/ DVD videos. Canada (2016).
The “Black Lives Matter: Contemporary and Historical Perspectives on Black Liberation and Activism” was a two-day event that took place on May 6-7, 2016 at York University in Toronto. The conference intended to highlight the development of liberation and activism among African-descended people in historical and contemporary settings.