Amazon developing ‘Black America’ series where reparations actually happened
Amazon has announced that it’s currently developing an alt-history series entitled “Black America,” where reparations was a reality.
The series, which Variety reports is the brainchild of Will Packer and Aaron McGruder, tells the story of a world where the United States granted the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to freed black people to rule on their own. The new land was deemed New Colonia and has had a tumultuous relationship with the neighboring U.S.
The timing of the announcement couldn’t be more perfect, as there’s been a constant public discussion over alt-history projects in television following HBO’s plans to release “Confederate,” a show about a world where the Confederacy won the Civil War.
“Confederate” was met with an onslaught of pushback from the public as it would depict a world where slavery still existed and many find that in bad taste. A hashtag was created by April Reign, the creator of #OscarsSoWhite, to show just how much protest there was to the show. Reign’s feelings about “Black America” are drastically different, though.
“I think it’s a much better representation of alt-history than what was proposed by Benioff and Weiss,” she said. “I support this project as it will show black and brown people thriving in this country, something that isn’t shown enough on screen. I’m also confident that, based on Mr. Packer’s previous track record, the crew behind the camera will be much more inclusive than we’ve seen from ‘Game of Thrones.’”
Some will view the announcement of “Black America” as an intentional shot at HBO. While that may be partially true, it’s apparently been in development for a long time now and isn’t merely a reaction to “Confederate.”