USA and Kenya / 1995 / 10mins / Documentary / English

Drawing from memory and narrative, Via New York explores the politicization of African students in New York and the participation of South African lesbians and gays in the anti-apartheid movement. Via New York is a snapshot of African lesbian and gay lives through the lens of migration and the pursuit of formal education. The film illustrates how both can function as catalysts for self-transformation and social change.

Kagendo Murungi

Kagendo Murungi was a Kenyan feminist who worked in independent partnership with artists and activists around the world to develop and produce independent film projects, festivals and other sites for creative cultural agency. She helped institute the position of Africa program officer at the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). A former international grants panel member of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Kagendo continued to work in community with Pan-African immigrants on grassroots initiatives and in support of sexual and political dissidents throughout her life. Kagendo received her BA in Women’s Studies from Rutgers University and her MA in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research. At Rutgers, she was a founding member of a radical, multicultural, woman of color collective. In 1991, she founded Wapinduzi Productions, a film, media and cultural organization and was its Executive Producer for 26 years, directing and producing documentary films and fostering collaborative creative community spaces in the fight for social justice and peace. She was greatly honored to have her essay, Small Axe at the Crossroads: A Reflection on African Sexualities and Human Rights, published in Sing, Whisper, Shout, Pray!: Feminist Visions for a Just World, ed. M. Jacqui Alexander, Lisa Albrecht, Sharon Day, and Mab Segrest (EdgeWork Books, 2003), 489-501. Kagendo volunteered with the African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF) for 15 years and brought her fealty and competence to the position of Volunteer Coordinator. As a community organizer and advocate, she held the position of Program Associate with the National Black Programming Consortium and worked with Queers for Economic Justice. In 2016, she served as Director of the Food Pantry at St. Mary’s Church, Harlem. Kagendo passed away at her home in Harlem in December of 2017. Learn More