Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Director Kobina Aidoo Asking ‘Who is Black?’ to Speak at Neo-African Americans

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Director Kobina Aidoo will give a showing of his 2009 documentary Neo-African Americans on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 17 in Beckman Auditorium of The Ames Library (1 Ames Plaza East, Bloomington). The event, which is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs in honor of African-American Heritage Month, is free and open to the public.

Neo-African Americans explores the influx of voluntary immigration to the United States, and how it impacts the traditional interpretation of the term African-American, as well as initiatives like Affirmative Action. According to Aidoo, over the past 25 years, more than 3 million people have immigrated to the U.S. from countries in Africa and the Caribbean.

“It is not simply a matter of white Americans and black Americans confronting a shared past. It is a redefinition of who is white, who is black, who is African-American, and how we should treat each other,” Aidoo said in a 2009 interview.

Along with filmmaking, Aidoo is a consultant for the World Bank in Washington, D.C. Originally from Ghana, he is a self-described African non-American, who studied at Barry University in Miami.

Kobina Aidoo

Kobina Aidoo
He has since worked with Warner Bros. Publications, Intel Computer Clubhouse and De Beers. He has also performed economic consulting assignments for governments in the Middle East and Africa.

Aidoo holds a master’s degree in public policy with a specialty in international trade and finance from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he also served as co-chief editor of the Africa Policy Journal.
For additional information, contact the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at (309) 556-3412.

Illinois Wesleyan Contact: Rachel Hatch, (309) 556-3960

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