How 'Amistad' sparked Djimon Hounsou's mission to unite the Black diaspora

(CNN) — Having grown up in the west African country of Benin, when two-time Oscar-nominated actor Djimon Hounsou immigrated to the US in 1990 to pursue his acting dreams, he felt a pain he could not ignore.

“I certainly felt a tremendous void, and that void is due to the lack of knowledge of who we are: our backstory, meaning our history, ancestral roots, and culture,” Hounsou told CNN.

“I felt this profound disconnect with African Americans,” he added.

When Hounsou landed his leading role in Steven Spielberg’s 1997 film “Amistad,” the powerful story of the slave trade, a harsh reality that affected much of the Black diaspora was exposed to him in a new way.

“As I was doing research for the film, I became profoundly aware of the disconnect of Afro-descendants from their roots and culture,” explained Hounsou.

As his career progressed, the actor gained a deeper understanding of the lasting effects of slavery through the systemic racism he says he faced over his 30-year journey in the industry.

“I came here for a dream, and I’m realizing that systemic racism was in all things you see.”

Despite starring in numerous blockbuster films such as “Gladiator,” “Shazam,” and the “A Quiet Place” franchise, and earning Oscar nominations as Best Supporting Actor for “In America” in 2004 and “Blood Diamond” in 2007, Hounsou says he has encountered challenges like those experienced by other Black actors in Hollywood, including being typecast and receiving unfair compensation.

“This conceptual idea of diversity, it still has a long way to go,” Hounsou explained.

“With two Oscar nominations I’m still struggling financially to make a living. That’s a sign for you that systemic racism is not something you can deal with lightly, it’s so deep inserted into so many things that we do across the board.”

These harsh truths were the catalyst for his philanthropic mission.

The actor launched the Djimon Hounsou Foundation in 2019, an initiative dedicated to bridging the Black diaspora and combating modern-day slavery. However, the core of Hounsou’s work centers around reconnecting Black people to their African roots.

He approaches that work through Africa Reconnect, a series of music and cultural events currently held in Richmond, Virginia.

Last September, CNN attended Hounsou’s third annual Run Richmond 16-19 event in a town that was once a central hub of the transatlantic slave trade in the Upper South of the US.

Hounsou set the tone for the weekend with a kickoff event called “A Time to Heal,” held in the Shockoe Bottom area, once the site of America’s second-largest slave market.

The evening started with a ceremony honoring ancestors, inspired by the traditions of West Africa’s Yoruba people, with attendees immersed in various meditative practices, including guided meditation, breathwork and shamanic drumming. “I want this to be a cathartic experience for our people to release grief and so that we can heal and reconcile,” said Hounsou.

He acknowledged that the event, held at a site with such a traumatic history, could open painful wounds, “But by opening those wounds and acknowledging what once took place here, you are engaging a form of healing,” the 60-year-old actor said. “That’s what I’m trying to achieve, healing of the intergenerational trauma of our [Black] people.”

Reconciliation and reconnection

Approximately 2,000 people gathered at Kanawha Plaza in downtown Richmond on September 21 to take on either a 16.19 kilometer or 6.19 kilometer cultural run or walk that took them through 400 years of Black history. The distance is a reference to the year 1619, when a ship first carried enslaved Africans to the shores of Virginia.

When asked why he chose a physical activity to bring people together, Hounsou said, “There are only very few things that allow you to massively bring people of all races together, which are sports and music.”

Along the route, race participants could engage with a mobile app developed in partnership with the 400 Years of African American History Commission, and narrated by Hounsou, which provided educational information and context about the sites that runners passed during their journey.

Hounsou has plans to expand the event to Liverpool and Ouidah, Benin, over the next few years as a symbolic representation of the triangular route of the Transatlantic slave trade.

“We’re trying to reverse that triangle to be a triangle of hope,” said Hounsou. “I’m trying to champion the idea that we all from every part of the world have a specific place where we come to honor our ancestors.”

The Djimon Hounsou Foundation is also sponsoring carefully curated 14-day trips to the continent designed to showcase multiple countries, to deepen people’s understanding of their heritage and identity.

“I came to California with this compelling need to do something for my continent and my people and to champion this idea of reconciliation and reconnection with the motherland,” Hounsou said.

“I just hope that I have changed the narrative about our people and our continent.”

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