EVALUATION OF U.S. SPEAKER FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH,

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000692

SIPDIS

STATE FOR IIP/G/WHA (CBARONE; GLLOYD); IIP/T/SV; WHA/PDA
(MBUCKLEY); INL/PC (RTHOMPSON)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KPAO SNAR HO
SUBJECT: EVALUATION OF U.S. SPEAKER FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH,
DENNIS WATLINGTON, TRACKER #18210

REF: TEGUCIGALPA 361


1. Dennis Watlington, March 1-10, 2003. Post celebrated
Black History Month (African-American Heritage Month)
through film showings, meetings with youth about the
possibility of a productive life following recovery from
drug use and gang violence, and discussions of cultural,
historical and social contributions of African-Americans to
American society. Impact was outstanding. The universities
provided the venues for their programs.


2. Filmmaker, writer, actor and director Dennis Watlington
is a tireless speaker who tailored his presentations
according to the audience, interspersing the showings of his
Emmy Award-winning documentary, "The Untold West: The Black
West," with anecdotes from his own life from Harlem to
Hollywood to deliver the message that "poverty and drugs are
not a death sentence, but a lack of education is." He
presented his audiences in nine different program venues and
four cities with a new perspective on Black History,
discussing the role played by slaves and freed Black
Americans in settling and developing the West, speaking
along the way with academic and cultural contacts,
representatives of Garifuna (Afro-Honduran) NGOs, students
and professors from the English Departments at two
universities, the media, the general public and local
filmmakers and reaching thousands during his six-day
program. The highlight of his program was meetings with
hundreds of young people, among them high school students,
recovering drug addicts and former gang members, and young
leaders from Garifuna and other North Coast communities who
are working as mentors with kids at risk in their
communities. During these inspiring programs, Mr.
Watlington talked about his personal story of recovery from
drug addiction and an early adolescence spent in gangs. His
extremely warm personality, openness and good humor made the
audience frequently interrupt with applause and more than
made up for his lack of Spanish. He is an articulate,
dedicated, engaging and hard-working man, who devoted
tremendous energy and thought to bringing a message of the
benefits of diversity and the possibility of hope through
education to his audiences, commenting more than once that
this was an "I'm proud to be an American" moment. The Post
wholeheartedly recommends him for future programming.


3. PAS Tegucigalpa thanks CAO David McGuire in PAS Managua
for suggesting Dennis Watlington as a speaker and appreciate
the usual excellent work of IIP/G/WHA Camille Barone and
Gloria Lloyd in facilitating financial arrangements.
Palmer