Educational Media Reviews Online

Senegalese hip-hop musician and political activist Didier Awadi states at the outset of United States of Africa that “Africa is not poor, it has been impoverished.” With Awadi serving as guide, this documentary explores the enduringly catastrophic results of European imperialism on the continent. Not only do foreign nations, the film explains, continue to siphon away the potential of Africa’s rich natural resources to benefit its own people, but they repeatedly sabotage attempts of politically progressive parties to achieve what Awadi and many others support: independent nations governed by Africans in the best interest of Africans.

Didier Awadi’s commitment to education and transmogrification via music leads him to create an album entitled Presidents d’Afrique, the making of which we glimpse during the course of the film. Each song, Awadi explains, merges original lyrics with recorded speeches given by prominent figures in African politics. Awadi expresses hope that the album will spur interest in African history amongst African youth, who he fears learn far too little of their own roots. This past includes the assassination of revolutionary leaders such as Patrice Lumumba and Thomas Sankara, who both advocated for African independence. The film explains that these assassinations stemmed, at least partially, from the threat African autonomy poses to outsiders’ ability to continue usurping profits. Many viewers beyond African youth are likely garner new knowledge and curiosity from information presented here.

United States of Africa is liberally peppered with musical performances by Awadi, along with friends and collaborators including Smockey of Burkina Faso, M1 from the United States-based Dead Prez, and South Africa’s Zuluboy. Smockey, in particular, emerges in the film as an outspoken critic of both foreign imperialists and African colluders. One scene depicts a Smockey admirer telling the musician that the courage he exhibits inspires others to speak out in an environment where criticism may be met with threats, bodily harm, or even death. This interaction underscores the critical role that music, and those who make it, can play in the education of listeners and societal change such an education might catalyze. United States of Africa is recommended for incorporation into a variety of political science, history, and music courses.

Awards

• Cinémathèque québécoise- Critics' Choice Award, Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal, November 9 to 20 2011, Montréal - Canada