PRODUCER, director, writer and television host Dr. Tukufu Zuberi, on Thursday presented a copy of his film, “African Independence” a portrayal of the African heritage and movement for freedom and liberation that premiered locally yesterday. The presentation was made as Dr Zuberi  paid a courtesy call on the Guyanese Head of State in the company of Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony and Director of the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) Dr. Eric Phillips.
Aside from yesterday’s screening at the  Theatre Guild Playhouse, Dr. Zuberi, an 11-year host of the PBS programme History Detectives, has also been invited, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, to participate in a workshop for local film-makers.
The founder to TZ Production Company said he is elated to be in Guyana for such an occasion that coincided with the 175th anniversary of the abolition of slavery and emancipation of enslaved Africans, and the 50th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity.
The Oakland, California native discussed with President Ramotar and team a wide range of issues pertaining to history and present-day occurrences, and the task ahead to create a better world.
Dr. Zuberi was born Antonio McDaniel in the 1970s, and changed his name to Tukufu Zuberi, in his quest to identify and make a connection with the “motherland.”
“We (pan-Africans) have this old idea that we need to identify with Africa, philosophically, ideologically and culturally as a way of reviving our own sense of self, not that we have to go back to Africa physically, or we have to rename ourselves as I personally did,  but that we do need to embrace a sense of African humanity,” he said in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA).