Today’s episode is an odyssey through Mili’s own journey through ancestral ties, personal identity, and relationships. She walks us through the process of engaging our ancestors in our everyday lives. We explore the necessity for connection and healing between Africans and African Americans. And we delve into the lessons one learns by simply sitting with questions that may never be answered. Tell us what you think about today’s episode. Don’t be shy, share your favorite moment with us on Twitter and Instagram at @blackimagination. Remember, you can view this episode and others on our YouTube channel The Institute of Black Imagination. If you’re interested in getting lost in what else we have going on, visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com where this and other content live. 

Things Mentioned

Transkei - Officially the Republic of Transkei, was an unrecognized State in the Southeastern Region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994

Apartheid in South Africa -  a system of institutionalized racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s.

Bantu - a general term for over 400 different ethnic groups in Africa, from Cameroon to South Africa

Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground - It was the first municipal burial ground of the city of Richmond, VA. It was historically known as the "Burial Ground for Negroes".

Milisuthando - Sundance Film Festival 2023

What to Read

South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid by Nancy L. Clark, William H. Worger

The Bantu, Past and Present; an Ethnographical and Historical Study of the Native Races of South Africa  by Sm Molema

The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa's Racial Reckoning by Eve Fairbanks

What to listen to

Grandma’s Hands by Bill Withers

Sounds From The Ancestors by Kenny Garrett

It’s Wrong (Apartheid) by Stevie Wonder

African Secret Society by Hugh Masekela

Who to follow

Follow Milisuthando Bongela on IG @msmillib and by visiting her website.

Learn more about her film at Milisuthando Bongela.

This conversation was recorded on March 16th, 2023.

Host Dario Calmese 

Producer: Coniqua Johnson 

Visual Art Direction and Designs: 

River Wildmen, Adam Selah

Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia

Bookings: K.T. Thompson

Original Music composed by Adam Radice

Audio Edited by Adam Radice

Visit us at blackimagination.com 

Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.