vigoronline

From left to right: Johntrae Williams, Michael K. Williams and Dominic Dupont. Photo by Leon Laing.

On Dec. 27, the Sankofa African American Theatre Company, Sankofa 21 Institute — and an Emmy-nominator actor hosted the first Sankofa Film Festival.

Taking place at The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, the festival offered showings of Raised in the System and The Hate U Give, two films about the criminal justice system and race relations.

Michael K. Williams and Dominic Dupont appear in Raised in the System and held a Q&A after the showing of their film. Williams, known for his roles in The Wire, 12 Years a Slave, When They See Us and Boardwalk Empire, is the brother of Paul Carey, president of Sankofa 21 Institute. Dupont, who served more than 20 years in prison, told vigoronline.com that Carey is his stepfather, but he calls him father. Dupont is also Williams’ nephew.

Sharia Benn, cofounder of the Sankofa African American Theatre Company, is a Harrisburg resident who grew up in Baltimore. Baltimore is also the city where HBO produced The Wire.

When asked why he chose to be a part of Raised in the System, here’s what Williams said:

“The school-to-prison pipeline. That was the first time I had heard those words used in a sentence, and it devastated me. So all you see here is me taking the journey to find out what that meant and how it effects my community. It was truly a gift of God.”