Ayuko Babu

Feb 17 2011

Keepers of flame

“We are heirs and custodians of a great legacy. We must bear the glory and burden of that legacy.”— Mary McLeod Bethune, educator and civil rights leader.

Los Angeles’ cultural diversity is what distinguishes it from most international cities. But many African Americans are concerned that their cultural influence on the city’s history is undervalued. 

Mar 19 2009

General Manager-Pan African Film Festival

 Los Angeles, CA -- With her light brown dreadlocks, colorful Afrocentric dress and ivory bangles that tinkle when she walks, no one would guess that Asantewa Olatunji is one of the powerhouses behind the annual Pan African Film Festival, the largest African American film festival in the country.

Gail Choice  |   OW Contributor
Feb 12 2009

Be a part of history

 You still have five days to enjoy and be a part of the 2009 17th Annual Pan African Film Festival (PAFF). Check out their Web site, select movies or panels and make it a point to be a part of African American film history.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jan 8 2009

Pan African Film Festival moves

Los Angeles, CA - It’s a simple matter of economics and infrastructure. Those are the basic reasons behind the move of the film festival portion of the Pan African Film and Art Festival from the Magic Johnson theaters in the Crenshaw Mall to the Culver Plaza Theater on the Los Angeles/Culver City border.

“ . . . the cost to rent the theater has become prohibitive; it’s been going up, and we can no longer afford to go there based on the services we are given,” explained Ayuko Babu, festival co-founder.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”