from their native cultures. "In times of great tension and stress, people seek out their religious connections. But what was the spiritual life of the enslaved Africans? We don't know much about that." That Abdul-Rahman had a religion, and was a Muslim, and a prince all at once, upsets many stereotypes, according to Director Andrea Kalin, whose films generally focus on bridging communication gaps between cultures. "Many people don't realize that up to 30 percent of slaves that came to America were Muslim. That didn't last past the first generation, but their customs are still evident in blues and some of the South's food." "It's a universal story." Kronemer said. "It's paradise lost. We all wonder what would happen if we lost it all. Here's a story about someone who lost an entire empire and emerged intact." At the time of his capture in 1788, Abdul-Rahman commanded an army bigger than George Washington's in a country larger than the 13 original U.S. states. It was Abdul-Rahman's extraordinary status that makes the story exemplify the ordinary in the experience of slavery, according to Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times. "His education and his brief fame make it a bit easier to tell his story, to know the sequence of certain events, the thoughts in his mind. But every one of the 16 million Africans abducted and sold had a similar story. Every African had a family left behind, a job, a past, a world in which he or she belonged. Every slave had to come to their own terms of submission or die." Appearances Cast Dramatic Readings Cast Commentators Funding Prince Among Slaves is a presentation of the National Black Programming Consortium. Major funding for Prince Among Slaves was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the El Hibri Charitable Foundation and many individual contributors. Awards The film won the Best Documentary Award at the 2007 American Black Film Festival in Los Angeles, as well as multiple others including Gold at the World Media Film Festival, TIVA DC Peer Awards, Cine Golden Eagle, and a Grand Goldie. Broadcast With a national broadcast on PBS, the film led off the network's Black History Month's programming in February 2008. Since then it has been re-broadcast on many local PBS affiliates. Community Unity Productions Foundation has coordinated screenings in over 50 major U.S. cities in such diverse