Washington, DC — A multinational project to explore issues of peace and justice has brought together South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and US historian John Hope Franklin. One result is a documentary produced by Wisdom Works, a company founded by the award-winning American journalist Renee Poussaint.
The project introduced Tutu and Franklin, who had never met, and brought them together in Senegal with 21 students from Senegal, South Africa and the United States. The series of conversations that ensued is the core of the documentary, a teachers' guide and a web site that discuss race, culture and reconciliation. "Imagine that! They had never met," says Poussaint. "I took them to Gorée Island and shot the heck out of them as they discussed new approaches to race and reconciliation for the 21st century."
Poussaint did wonder if the two men would get along. "What if they don't like each other," she thought. But that fleeting concern was erased when Bishop Tutu said on meeting Franklin, "I consider you my elder and think you should make the decisions."
Franklin "was game for anything," said Poussaint, acknowledging surprize and admitting that, before the trip, her mental image was one of a rather strait-laced professor Franklin." But when Bishop Tutu sat on the ground and ate with his fingers, so did John Hope Franklin, turning down the spoon a woman offered him. It worked out beautifully."
Film clips, photographs and discussions, as well as information about ordering educational packets and videos, can be found on the Wisdom Works web site.
