Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr, a Harvard Professor, takes a look at the african history of five Latin American countries which played a key role in the slave trade. Over three episodes, Professor Gates examines the history of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Brazil and Cuba.
It is little known fact that the majority of slaves taken from Africa did not end up in the USA, but many Latin American countries do not have a black identity or their inhabitants find it hard to identify themselves as black. These films explore the issue of black identity in these countries and looks at how African culture is still visible today.
You can find some useful historical timelines for these countries here.
Cuba, The Next Revolution
Brazil, A Racial Paradise
Mexico and Peru: The Black Grandma in the Closet
Haiti and the Dominican Republic: An Island Divided
You can watch this episode here.
