In
2002, I took my first trip abroad, traveling to France, Spain and
Morocco. What I thought would be a simple vacation turned into a
journey that deeply challenged the way I saw myself, my relationship to
the world and the meaning of community. Through the constant contact
and conversations with people in those countries, my struggles with
language and exposure to diverse local customs, ethnicities, belief
systems, religions, music and food, I came away from that trip with new
eyes. From that transformative trip, the idea for The Passage Project: Stories from the African Diaspora
was born. Its mission is to transcend traditional ideas of race and
identity through the words of people living throughout the world.
Keeping in mind that Africa is the birthplace of humanity, The Passage Project promises to help people recognize their own connection to Africa and each other.
This
work-in-progress is comprised of three parts. The first is a book
featuring the words and images of members of the African Diaspora. In
it, interviews reflect how factors such as environment, socioeconomic
status and geographic location contribute to the shaping of identity.
The second part of The Passage Project
is a documentary theater piece that transforms the interviews into
monologues. Still images, video and music are included to take the
storytelling process to a deeper level for the stage.
The
final part is a blog that lists news and events taking place throughout
the African Diaspora, in addition to tracking the progression of the
book and documentary theater sides of The Passage Project.
While
the blog has been up and running since December of last year, the
projected completion date for both the book and theater piece is late
2009. Until that time, I plan to make available selections from both
through published excerpts and theatrical workshops.
An important goal of The Passage Project is
to assist seemingly dissimilar people living throughout the world with
moving toward a deeper appreciation of the term community. With this,
we will begin to understand the responsibility we all have to one
another and see immeasurable cross-cultural influences.
Examples
that illustrate this idea include West Africa’s influence on
Argentina’s Tango, Colombia’s Salsa and the Yorubas’ imprint on
religious traditions such as Brazil’s Candomblé and Cuba’s Santeria.
There are many more, such as young Palestinians examining their lives
through hip-hop, the distinct music and patios of the diverse city of
New Orleans, African influences on the runways of fashion designers
such as Yves Saint Laurent and Morocco’s connection to China via the
region’s beloved mint tea. All of these examples demonstrate the
importance of looking at each other as part of a greater community.
The Passage Project
includes the stories of people’s victories, struggles, creations and
lifestyles. One of my favorite interviews was with a professor from
Zimbabwe whose name I am withholding at this time because of the
country’s present political climate. When discussing Zimbabwe’s
political and economic crisis, in reference to the government’s
appropriation of land from White people, “Land distribution was
necessary but it needed to done properly, not with need to revenge the
past wrongs. The leadership should learn to accept that the beauty of
creation is in its diversity. Society should be like that in every
respect.” His quote truly captures what The Passage Project is all about.
Since
traveling to Europe and North Africa in 2002, I have continued to
travel the world, collecting stories from the African Diaspora. I
have spoken with artists, poets, journalists, activists, doctors,
business owners, teachers, students and those struggling to find their
place in society. Each and every one of them is connected through the
African Diaspora and in their voices I hear my own. I hope others feel
the same way after reading or hearing their stories.
Trina
Michelle Robinson is a writer and actress living in New York and
currently works as a freelance production editor at T, the style
magazine of The New York Times. For more information on The Passage
Project, visit www.passage-project.com or email Trina at trina@passage-project.com.
(This article can be found at http://www.vidaafrolatina.com/The_Passage_Project_High.html)
