Photo courtesy of Asota Seven Arts & Entertainment.
If you’re looking for a chance to celebrate Black History Month through film, there are two opportunities with an Oak Cliff connection coming up here in Dallas.
At the Pan-African Connection, directed and produced by Dallas native Anthony “Tony” Asota, will screen throughout this month. Known for producing Love is Blind, Last Chance U: Basketball, America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and many others with Netflix, Asota gave it all up after his “soul-shifting visit” to Oak Cliff’s Pan-African Connection Bookstore, Art Gallery, and Resource Center.
The film follows Asota as he unintentionally unlocks the key to his self-identity and history, Black history, drawing on the scholarship of Dr. Joy DeGruy, author of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, and Dr. Claud Anderson, author of PowerNomics. Asota explores generational trauma, internalized oppression and systemic exclusion, while also challenging viewers to take action, according to a press release.
If you’re interested in seeing the film this month, here’s the schedule for the Dallas screenings:
Friday, February 6 at 12:30 p.m.
Mountain View Community College (4849 W. Illinois Ave., Dallas, TX)
Room W171, Open to the public
Following the screening, a Q&A discussion featuring At the Pan African Director Tony Asota, and special guests will be held.
Thursday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m. (Doors Open at 6:30 p.m.)
South Dallas Cultural Center (3400 S. Fitzhugh Ave., Dallas, TX)
Free tickets available via Eventbrite
Following the screening, a moderated discussion featuring At the Pan African Director Tony Asota, and local community leaders will be held.
