Breaking New Ground!

Recording our first interview with veteran organizer Kalonji Jama Changa for the Hannibal docuseries

“Hannibal” (A Message from the Filmmaker)

Relaunching our crowdfunding campaign on April 30, 2023 is a full circle moment for this project. One year ago, today, my media partner and I, packed up our film equipment for an exploratory journey to Hermanville, Mississippi.

Omowale & Slam Bradley (Reel Shutter) headed South for the Story. 

We went in search of information about one of the most dedicated, yet unsung, food sovereignty warriors in African-American history, Baba Hannibal Tirus Afrik.

Photo of children growing food on Baba Hannibal’s Homestead

On June 5, 2022, what would’ve been Baba Hannibal’s 88th birthday, we released our findings in an article titled, Reparations, Food Sovereignty, and Starvation in America; along with a crowdfunding campaign to produce a film on his vision and mission of land & food sovereignty.

Our initial campaign closed on August 4, 2022, after raising nearly $8,000, which we used to acquire two much needed cinema cameras to timeproof the project, and deliver a professional cinematic production. 

We’ve gone as far as we can go on our own, and in order to break new ground on this project, we’ll need to raise an additional $60,000 for the film’s development phase.

Why This Topic?

The story of Black America’s fight for food sovereignty is one of the most untold sagas in African-American history. 

Black Americans have had to fight to feed AND free ourselves, since our arrival on these shores; and while our continuous freedom struggle has been well documented, it’s connection to food has been largely ignored. With the production of this film, we’re bringing together a chorus of land and food warriors, to weave a Nu-story that connects the ancestral maroons to the present-day urban gardeners.

Using Baba Hannibal as a canvas, we intend to produce a mosaic that brings to life a common vision shared among our ancestors. Whether Booker T. Washington, Fannie Lou Hamer, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, or the Black Panther Party, feeding the people was an essential part of their program, and a consistent feature of our collective resistance. 

Why Crowdfunding?

There’s an oft-repeated Afrikan Proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together”. Producing a film is a very costly endeavor, and we won’t get very far with this project on our own. When we consider the cost of travel, alone, we’ll need to go to more than 16 different states to bring this story to life, and that doesn’t account for the additional ancillary costs required to complete production.  Point being, we’ll need the support of a much broader community to shoulder the weight of this project if we’re to be successful producing it.

“Many hands makes the load lighter.” 

Contributors to the development phase of the Hannibal project would be supporting a seminal film about Black America’s fight for land & food sovereignty. By supporting this Indiegogo campaign, your dollars will allow us to:

• Immediately hire a top-notch production crew and a support staff,
• Pay for production equipment rentals and production insurance,
• Hire an excellent, experienced editor, and
• Create a high quality trailer to heighten awareness and to raise additional funding for the other phases of the project.

Limitations

Before accepting any contributions to this project, it’s important that we acknowledge its limitations, as well as my own. As documentary filmmakers, we rely heavily on the expertise and experience of scholars and community members to accurately tell the story. That said, it is impossible for any singular project to tell the complete history of this topic; and no one project alone will win the fight for food sovereignty. Our goal, with the Hannibal project is to emphasize the collective contributions of our farmers, urban gardeners, and local growers to the food sovereignty movement; while reminding us all that we are ALL each others harvest.

The fight for food sovereignty has roots that stretch deep into our past, and we hope to unearth these roots to show current generations that this is a continued fight, but yet and still, THE SAME FIGHT, wherever we are on the planet. Our struggle is one, and above all else, that is what the Hannibal project is meant to convey. 

As far as my own limitations, there are many. As a father, husband, organizer, and teacher, I’m limited in the amount of funds that I have, the amount of time that I have, as well as the amount of energy that I have to dedicate to this project. However, from the moment this film was conceived in my mind, not a day has passed without me giving thought to birthing it. During this gestation period, there’ve been plenty of detours, pauses, and changes in trajectory, but not once have I waivered in my commitment to producing it. 

When I think of all the ways I’m working to root myself in this work, while protecting my own sanity, the greatest gift I’ve been able to give myself is my own humanity.  Which means, I’m limited in how much I can personally give, and still show up complete and whole for the people who rely on me. By acknowledging my own limitations, as well as my inability to get this done alone,  I’m appealing to our broader community to support this sincere effort, because if we all chip in a little, we’ll end up with a lot.

Every Dollar Matters!

Raising $60,000 is a big “ask” yet we’re only asking for a portion of what it would take to deliver an excellent film. So no contribution is too small and every single dollar counts towards meeting and hopefully exceeding our $60,000 goal. If you help make this campaign a successful one, we promise to make you a proud contributor.

In exchange for your contribution, you’ll get some cool perks in return. Check out the SEE OPTIONS section to view some of the “Perks” we’re offering to our worldwide community of supporters.

Other Ways You Can Help

Our approach to creating this project has been interactive, and community centered, from the beginning. We’re inviting the entire Afrikan world community to be our co-producers, co-actors, and co-financers of this bold and ambitious film. However, if you cannot contribute financially at this time, you can help by spreading the word. Word of mouth is really important if we’re going to be successful! PLEASE tell your family, friends, co-workers, colleagues, and associates about Hannibal and our goal to raise $60,000 to produce the film. That would be a HUGE help!

Thank you for taking the time to WATCH THE VIDEO and for reading my statement.  My team and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Please contact us via email at info@omowaleafrika.com

As always, thank you for your support.

Your brother, Omowale

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About Omowale Afrika

Omowale Afrika is a Garveyite, and grassroots institution builder, with nearly two decades of student & community organizing experience. Omowale has served the local Philadelphia community in a variety of roles, including, the former President of Marcus Garvey’s, UNIA & ACL, Division 121, and as an Anti-Violence activist with Men United for a Better Philadelphia.   

He is the immediate past Vice-Shenuti for the Philadelphia Chapter of Afrocentricity International, where he oversaw Youth Programming, and was responsible for managing the community outreach initiatives for the African Heritage & Cultural preservation fund. 

He was the lead organizer for the RBG Centennial Conference, and the 2020 Remaking Black Power Summit, and is the current Executive Director of the Afrikan War College; Founder of the Council of Black Restoration Activists, also known as COBRA; and Co-General of the Amos Wilson Collective. 

In addition to his organizing efforts, brother Omowale is an independent filmmaker & community lecturer, with his most notable works being the Strike Drum lecture series, and the Un-American Dilemma project. 

Brother Omowale lectures, writes, and organizes around the following issues:

• Pan Africanism/Black Nationalism
• Afrikan Spirituality
• Cultural Memory
• Political Prisoners
• Reparations
• Black Liberation
• Black Power
• State Sanctioned Violence
• Rebuilding Black Families
• Community-led Development
• Nation Building

Follow him on Twitter and subscribe to his monthly newsletter right here!

If you’d like to make an investment in his work & vision you can support by becoming a patron today.

https://www.patreon.com/OmowaleAfrika

Make a donation to support the war effort: https://cash.app/$StrikeDrum