U-Matic

African American World Festival
Tape 6, 1989

U-Matic tape number six from a series of seven shot at the 1989 African World Festival in Hart Plaza. This tape features footage of the children's crafts area, a natural hair stylist, the vendor area, a performance by the Detroit-based band Kokayi The Message Group, speeches by Akua Budu-Watkins and Prexy Nesbitt, and part of a performance by a West African band.

The tape opens with footage of a mask-making craft activity for children in Hart Plaza's underground area. Children model their masks for the camera, and a woman working at the table is interviewed about the activity.

Allen Biggers, a hair stylist who bills himself as a "Natural Hair Sculptor" is interviewed next as he begins to work on a woman's hair.

The next several shots feature the vendor area off of the underground food court, and an exhibit area with a series of display panels.

Next, the jazz band Kokayi The Message Group is filmed performing several songs on the main stage. The members dedicate their songs to the recently departed Mickey Leland as well as to grandparents and children. After their set Michael "Mikey Dread" Julian from WDET's Reggae Vibrations takes the stage to address the crowd.

The camera cuts away from Julian's speech and resumes recording with a pair of percussionists performing on stage amongst a large group of people. Afterward, the festival's co-chair Akua Budu-Watkins introduces activist Prexy Nesbitt. Nesbitt then recognizes the festival's organizers, notes the death of Mickey Leland, and talks about the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Budu-Watkins then returns to the microphone to thank a series of people who contributed to the festival, and she also calls for a moment of silence.

After another cut, a West African band begins performing their song "No Drugs No Man." The tape ends mid-song, but the recording is continued on 2015.008.186.

The video is on a 3M UCA-60 U-Matic tape with a handwritten 3M label on its top. The tape is housed within a black plastic latching case with a matching label on its cover.