Courtney B. Vance Discusses His Emotional Journey Creating Powerful New Docuseries ‘One Thousand Years Of Slavery’

etcanada.com:

Courtney B. Vance is opening up about his riveting new docuseries, “One Thousand Years of Slavery”, which premieres during Black History Month.

The Emmy-winning actor and wife Angela Bassett teamed up as executive producers on the the four-part limited series, which explores the legacy of slavery. READ MORE: The 10th Annual Toronto Black Film Festival To Start With Keke Palmer, Common’s ‘Alice’ “When the project was brought to us we looked and realized there was no African American folks involved,” recalls Vance, who lends his voice as the show’s narrator. “We thought we could bring that value to it so it would truly be an international global situation discussing slavery as a worldwide phenomenon.” The series uncovers the truth of a 1,000-year story of slavery around the world, as stars such as Debbie Allen and Dulé Hill, among others, go on journeys to confront their personal connection to slavery and its lasting impact today. “It was very emotional for anybody to witness,” admitted Vance. “My wife and I were blessed enough to do ‘Finding Your Roots’, and it’s a very emotional thing to see your family’s journey in both positive and negative ways.

Many Black folks and slaves all over the world killed themselves, but the vast majority of slaves survived and thrived and found all kinds of ways to sabotage and survive and still found joy in their long days.” The series reframes history by exploring the different ways in which many slaves fought back and rebelled against their oppressors, including the Amistad Case. “If you enslave anybody they’re going to rebel,” notes Vance. “Rebel or you die.