Meeting David Wilson

David A. Wilson, as a 28 year-old African-American journalist, traveled deep into his family's past to find the answers to America's racial divide. His journey resulted in the feature length documentary "Meeting David Wilson", which he wrote and co-directed. In researching his family's ancestry, David learned of a plantation in North Carolina where his family was once enslaved, and subsequently discovered that the plantation is owned today by a 62-year-old white man-also named David Wilson-who is a direct descendant of his family's slave Master. This discovery leads to a momentous encounter between these two men who share the same name, but whose ancestors were on the opposite sides of freedom. Later, through DNA testing, David is able to trace his African roots back to Ghana, West Africa, where he travels to visit the place where it all began.

On April 11, 2008, MSNBC premiered the documentary "Meeting David Wilson" which was hosted by Tiki Barber. The film aired nationally as part of a groundbreaking television event, which also included a live town-hall conversation on race moderated by Brian Williams of NBC's Nightly News from the campus of Howard University. The critically acclaimed film received much fanfare including a segment on "The Today Show", "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" and was featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Readers Digest, among others

In his interactive, multimedia lecture, David shows pivotal moments from the film, including his conversations with the white David Wilson, and initiates a discussion with audiences about the state of race relations today, how we got here- both literally and figuratively-and where we're headed.  While much of his presentation focuses on the racial dilemmas of today, David shows how the country's history played a role in creating the problem, and more importantly, how it is in the interest of America's future that we all play a part in the solution.

For more information, please visit the Meeting David Wilson website.