If the groundbreaking documentary “Descendant” served to introduce the world to the unique community of Africatown, a new series premiering Monday is an invitation to come on into the kitchen.
“The Descendant Cookout” is a three-episode series of short videos that will be available for free viewing on YouTube. Part one, called “The Past is Always Present,” was released Monday afternoon with the others to come on following Mondays.
The 6.5-minute video begins with Stephen Satterfield joining Clotilda descendant Vernetta Henson at home as she prepares for a cookout bringing together descendants and community leaders “to celebrate the richness of their tradition and to discuss what happens next for the community.” Satterfield’s credits include co-founding the food and culture magazine Whetstone and serving as a host of the Netflix series “High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America.”
“I look at the work you’re doing,” Satterfield says, as they prepare collard greens and potato salad, “and you may not even consider it work…[but] you are doing preservation work.”
“The Descendant Cookout” is presented by Participant, a global media company backing “Descendant,” and Satterfield’s Whetstone Media. Episodes will appear on Participant’s YouTube channel.
Promotional materials indicate that “Descendant” director Margaret Brown is one of the cookout attendees, though she’s not glimpsed in the first episode. Those who are include Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, a high-profile backer of the film; Veda Tunstall, a descendant prominently featured in it; “Descendant” co-writer and co-producer Kern Jackson; and environmental activist Ramsey Sprague. Credits list Celine Glasier as executive producer and Brock Scott as director of photography.
Episode two, “The Future of Africatown,” follows on Dec. 5. For more information about this web series and the “Descendant” Impact Campaign, visit www.descendantfilm.com.