The Department of Africana and American Studies invites you to a screening of the documentary Zurbano, Racial Consciousness. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Robert Zurbano, Janaina Oliveira, and Donte McFadden. Light refreshments will be served.

ROBERTO ZURBANO is a prominent cultural critic and literary scholar who has been an activist and a leading scholar on racial issues. In his personal history, Zurbano lucidly addresses racial issues while he guides us through the development of his intellectual and racial consciousness starting with his humble origins in a small village. In the process he articulates reflections on the socio-historical and cultural role blacks played in the development of the nation, and on the opportunities provided by the 1959 Cuban revolution that did not effectively address racism. Zurbano argues that in Cuba there is racism and neo-racism that have been silenced in public discourse. This testimony is enriched by hip-hop music by Obsesión.

JANAÍNA OLIVEIRA is a curator and researcher who holds a doctorate in history and was a Fulbright scholar at the Center for African Studies at Howard University (USA). She is one of the founders of FICINE – Fórum Itinerante de Cinema Negro.

DONTE McFADDEN is the Director of the Distinguished Visiting Scholars program in the College of Arts and Sciences at UB. Received his PhD in English with an emphasis in Film Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He earned a master’s degree in English and a BFA/BA in Film/Film Studies also from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Donte is co- founder of Black Lens, a showcase for African American filmmakers as part of the Milwaukee Film Festival.