Out of the Archives 6: Africa Adventure Series profiles African visitors to the US learning about the American way of life
The US Information Agency (USIA) was a Cold War propaganda and public diplomacy agency. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) contains a large collection of USIA’s film, photography, and textual records, with many of these holdings still to be explored. As I make research visits to NARA, I’ll be sharing occasional updates of my discoveries, especially those materials related to post-independence Africa, from the USIA archives.
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Beginning in 1965, USIA’s Motion Picture Service started producing, as described in the agency’s records, the “African-targeted ADVENTURE series, which deals with the experience of African visitors to the US, and are designed to reflect a balanced view of American life through their eyes.” Production of these 60 short films, designed for distribution and exhibition in USIA’s Africa posts and other local venues, posts continued until 1970.
As noted in previous Out of the Archives installments, USIA’s communications content intended for African audiences served a dual purpose. Its overt goal, as the above description emphasizes, was to introduce viewers to a curated vision of America, its ways of life, and values. Its less direct but pervasive aim was to portray, in particular, the state of America’s race relations in a favorable light.
This was rarely called out directly but instead addressed in a more subtle fashion, as exemplified by the Adventure series. For instance, the opening sequence is a set of illustrations whose final image is that of an African in traditional dress, carrying a suitcase, looking towards the US Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. The scene is framed by the statue of Abraham Lincoln from the Lincoln Memorial, which commemorates the US president who ended slavery. The Memorial was also a key site in the 1963 civil rights March on Washington. In general, the Adventure series consistently shows African visitors in congenial social integration and physical proximity with white Americans.
One of the earliest episodes in this series, Adventure №2, was produced in 1965 and released in 1966. The 15-minute black-and-white film is comprised of short profiles of three African students. The episode is introduced by a Black American host, Mike McClellan, who also provides some voice-over narration between the segments. I haven’t been able to find out anything more about this individual or even verify the spelling of his name.
The episode’s first story is about Alexander Williams of Sierra Leone, a student at Wharton Business School, who is shown visiting an American small business, S&S Metal Products Company in Philadelphia. My research suggests that Williams received a Master’s Degree in Economics and a PhD. in Finance from Wharton and eventually went on to become a professor at Clark Atlanta University.
Williams was the only visitor from Sierra Leone included in the entire Adventure series, while Nigerians appeared in at least 15 episodes. This includes Adventure №2’s second segment that profiles Nigerian playwright Ola Rotimi studying at the Yale School of Drama. The footage includes rehearsals for what is described as his latest play Death is the Fairest Cover. (However, my research doesn’t show Rotimi having a play of that title; his first play, which notably was awarded Yale Student Play of the Year in 1966, is listed as Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again). Rotimi is also filmed attending a playwriting class with fellow students. Rotimi went on to be one of Nigeria’s leading playwrights and theatre directors.
The third segment features Mrs. Margaret Githaiga of Kenya, described as a student of education at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. She is shown visiting a public library. As in the previous segments, Githaiga speaks directly to the camera and over B-roll of other activities at the library, such as a public lecture by an unidentified African man. She explains the functions and role of the institution in an American community. I haven’t been able to find out anything more about Githaiga. Overall, women represent a small percentage of all the African visitors that appear in the Adventure series.
Over time, the Adventure series’ style evolves. The introductory illustration sequence is dispensed with, as is the host. A single individual visitor comes to be the focus of the whole episode. Also, later episodes in the series are shot in color. (I’ll be exploring some of these later episodes in future Out of the Archives installments.) According to USIA records, Adventure №2 was retired from circulation in 1973.
One of the most interesting things about this episode is the single end credit referring to its intro/outro illustrations: “Artwork by Elton Fax.” Born in Baltimore, Black artist Fax had a long, varied, and distinguished career as an illustrator and author. Fax served as a chalk-talk artist (during which he would illustrate his stories with spontaneous sketches) for the US Department of State Educational Exchange Program. (Is that possibly how Fax came to the attention of the USIA Motion Picture Service?) His travels during the 1960s took him to West and East Africa. These journeys, as well as Black American historical figures and Black artists, were frequent subjects of his art.
Fax’s participation adds an extra dimension to the knotty racial dynamics characterizing the Adventure film series, and all other Africa-targeted USIA content. Aside from director William Greaves (discussed in Out of the Archives 4), I have not identified any other Black creative involved in USIA film productions.
