Ayoka Chenzira
Ayoka Chenzira was born on November 8, 1953, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Paul and Bernice Wilson. Chenzira was reared by her mother who owned a beauty parlor in the building where they lived in north Philadelphia. Pennsylvania. Chenzira played the cello, field hockey and studied ballet for a number of years. She attended private boarding school during high school. After graduation, she attended The College of New Rochelle in Westchester, New York, where she studied film and photography. Chenzira received her M.A degree in education from Columbia University and her B.F.A. degree in film production from New York University, where her thesis piece was Syvilla: They Dance to her Drum, a short film that documented the African American concert dancer, Syvilla Fort, who was her dance teacher.
As the chair of the department of media and communication arts at the City College of New York, Chenzira managed programs in advertising, public relations, journalism, film and video. She also co-created the City College of New York’s first M.F.A in media arts production graduate program.
Chenzira is a prolific film artist whose works include features, performance art, documentaries, experimental productions and animation. In fact, she is considered the first African American female animator. In 2002, Chenzira was invited to serve as the first William and Camille Cosby Endowed Professor in the Arts at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, where she is creator and director of the Digital Moving Image Salon (DMIS) and teaches a year long research and production course. She also created and served as co-director of Oral Narratives and Digital Technology, a joint venture between Spelman College and the Durham Institute of Technology (DIT), where she designed and taught workshops primarily for Zulu students at DIT.
Chenzira lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and has one adult daughter.
A2006.156
Female
12/10/2006
Chenzira
Gesu School
Stephen Girard School
Philadelphia High School for Girls
Lourdesmont School
New York University
Teachers College, Columbia University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Ayoka
Philadelphia
CHE04
Fall
Pennsylvania
Amalfi Coast
That's What I'm Talking About.

Georgia
11/8/1953
Atlanta
United States
Sushi, Tuna Fish Sandwiches
Animator, communications professor, film professor, and film director Ayoka Chenzira (1953 - ) created the first Master of Fine Arts degree program at the City College of New York, and is the William and Camille Cosby Endowed Professor in the Arts at Spelman College.
‘Syvilla: They Dance to Her Drum’
Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy-Headed People
On Becoming a Woman: Mothers and Daughters Talking to Each Other
Secret Sounds Screaming: The Sexual Abuse of Children
The Lure and The Lore
Zajota and the Boogie Spirit
Red Carnelian Films
The City College of New York
Alma's Rainbow
In The Rivers of Mercy Angst
Sentry at the Gate: The Comedy of Jane Galvin Lewis
Snowfire
Flying Over Purgatory
Spelman College
Burnt Orange
Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Ayoka Chenzira's interview
Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Ayoka Chenzira lists her favorites
Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her father's background
Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her mother's family background, pt. 1
Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her mother's family background, pt. 2
Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her mother
Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Ayoka Chenzira recalls growing up in a diverse apartment in North Philadelphia
Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her mother's apartment in North Philadelphia
Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her earliest childhood memories
Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Ayoka Chenzira describes Thanksgiving celebrations with her family
Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Ayoka Chenzira describes the sights, sounds and smells of her childhood
Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her childhood games and activities
Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Ayoka Chenzira describes the demographics of Philadelphia's Gesu School
Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Ayoka Chenzira remembers buying stockings for her First Communion
Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Ayoka Chenzira describes the nuns at Philadelphia's Gesu School
Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Ayoka Chenzira remembers an accident on the playground
Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her interest in Catholic rituals
Tape: 2 Story: 10 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her childhood personality and her mother's parenting
Tape: 2 Story: 11 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her mother's emphasis on healthy meals
Tape: 2 Story: 12 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her outdoor and cultural activities as a child
Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Ayoka Chenzira recalls a lesson about racism
Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her ballet lessons
Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Ayoka Chenzira remembers Philadelphia's Jewish community
Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Ayoka Chenzira recalls transferring to Steven Girard Elementary School
Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her experiences at Steven Girard Elementary School
Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Ayoka Chenzira recalls her community's reaction to President John Fitzgerald Kennedy's death
Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Ayoka Chenzira recalls how her artistic interest emerged at Philadelphia High School for Girls
Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her high school experiences
Tape: 3 Story: 9 - Ayoka Chenzira recalls developing her artistic identity at Lourdesmont School
Tape: 3 Story: 10 - Ayoka Chenzira recalls her experiences at Lourdesmont School
Tape: 3 Story: 11 - Ayoka Chenzira remembers her decision to study filmmaking
Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Ayoka Chenzira reflects upon Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination
Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her perception of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Ayoka Chenzira shares her opinion of Malcom X as a young woman
Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Ayoka Chenzira recalls attending The College of New Rochelle in New York
Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Ayoka Chenzira describes film education at New York University
Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her artistic influences
Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Ayoka Chenzira recalls her film professors, Peter Glushanok and Haig Manoogian
Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Ayoka Chenzira recalls learning animation to create her film, 'Hair Piece'
Tape: 4 Story: 9 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her decision to attend Columbia University's Teachers College
Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her documentary, 'Syvilla: They Dance to Her Drum'
Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Ayoka Chenzira recalls working as a video editor to fund her films
Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her daughter and late husband
Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Ayoka Chenzira recalls learning animation and working with Byllye Avery
Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Ayoka Chenzira talks about her film, 'Hair Piece,' pt. 1
Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Ayoka Chenzira talks about her film, 'Hair Piece,' pt. 2
Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Ayoka Chenzira reflects upon African American women's hair trends
Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Ayoka Chenzira describes the negative response to her film, 'Hair Piece'
Tape: 5 Story: 9 - Ayoka Chenzira explains why she does not consider herself the first African American woman animator
Tape: 5 Story: 10 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her film, 'Secret Sounds Screaming: The Sexual Abuse of Children'
Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Ayoka Chenzira talks about her film, 'The Lure and The Lore'
Tape: 6 Story: 2 - Ayoka Chenzira talks about her film, 'Zajota and the Boogie Spirit'
Tape: 6 Story: 3 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her film company, Red Carnelian Films
Tape: 6 Story: 4 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her international film projects and her teaching career
Tape: 6 Story: 5 - Ayoka Chenzira talks about her film, 'Alma's Rainbow'
Tape: 6 Story: 6 - Ayoka Chenzira talks about her film, 'In The Rivers of Mercy Angst'
Tape: 6 Story: 7 - Ayoka Chenzira talks about two of her short films
Tape: 6 Story: 8 - Ayoka Chenzira talks about her interactive film project, 'Her,' with her daughter
Tape: 6 Story: 9 - Ayoka Chenzira talks about her stage play, 'Flying Over Purgatory,' pt. 1
Tape: 7 Story: 1 - Ayoka Chenzira talks about her stage play, 'Flying Over Purgatory,' pt. 2
Tape: 7 Story: 2 - Ayoka Chenzira describes the courses she teaches at Spelman College
Tape: 7 Story: 3 - Ayoka Chenzira talks about her professional and personal goals
Tape: 7 Story: 4 - Ayoka Chenzira reflects upon her life
Tape: 7 Story: 5 - Ayoka Chenzira describes her concerns for the African American community
Tape: 7 Story: 6 - Ayoka Chenzira shares her advice to aspiring filmmakers
Tape: 7 Story: 7 - Ayoka Chenzira shares a message for future generations
Tape: 7 Story: 8 - Ayoka Chenzira talks about her admiration for African American filmmakers
Tape: 7 Story: 9 - Ayoka Chenzira reflects upon her legacy and how she would like to be remembered
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