
Torch Photo / Malak Kassem
Founded in 2023, the St. John’s University Sankofa Cinema Club, founded in 2023, is a virtual space where participants meet monthly to watch a film centered on the Black community.
Sankofa is run by Bridget Smith, an adjunct professor in the division of mass communications. She chooses the films, leads discussions and invites guest speakers — including those involved in the making of the film — to address viewers and contribute to discussions.
The virtual gatherings are open to St. John’s students as well as external community members.
Smith never planned to create an on-campus film club but it soon became a stepping stone to a career goal.
Getting to St. John’s
She stumbled into a career at the university by way of a “good accident” when she applied in 2010, hearing back four years later and forgetting she even applied.
Smith decided to fill out an application simply out of curiosity, and not particularly because she aimed for tenure. She didn’t know that providing learning opportunities for aspiring media professionals would be given back so quickly as an opportunity for goals of her own.
Her spot at the University was destined when the professor who was supposed to teach an introductory multimedia communications class was no longer able to teach a class at 7:30 a.m. That’s when the hiring manager at St. John’s decided to give Smith a call.
“To be honest, I think they were looking for a sucker to teach the class and I decided to be that sucker,” she said with a smile.
At the time, she worked as a quality control technician at AMC Networks in Manhattan.
For the Fall 2014 semester, she took a cab to campus on Tuesdays and Fridays for the class and then would run to the bus stop to go to work by 10 a.m., clocking out at 6 p.m.
“I used to think the cliché ‘teaching is rewarding’ is something that people say, but there is truth to that,” Smith said.
As a member of the media industry for nearly 30 years, Smith said, “People ask where have I been.” She said instead “you need to ask where have I not been.”
Pit Stops Around the Industry
The media pioneer started her career at Channel 5 on the Upper East Side. Since then, she has held roles at HBO, AMC Networks, Lifetime, Nickelodeon, Disney+ and now at Hulu.
“Television has always been my first love,” Smith said. “Initially I wanted to be an actress but when I went to undergrad at SUNY Plattsburgh, took TV production and majored in mass communications, I fell in love with behind the scenes.”
Currently at Hulu as a senior quality control technician, Smith is responsible for ensuring content is ready to be uploaded on Hulu’s platform for subscribers to view.
“It’s not as fancy as it sounds,” she laughed. “I have to make sure there are captions [and] the video looks good and the audio is good.”
Smith uses her skills from her professional life to work toward her goal with Sankofa: to shed light on films that exemplify Black history and are not traditionally screened.
“We all know and love Dr. King and Rosa Parks, but there are so many other heroes and sheroes that don’t get the light of day.”
Her experiences from almost every aspect of life have been an inspiration for the cinema club on campus.
Smith believes that Black history needs more exposure than it currently receives.
Filling the Gap
During her time at graduate school, she was looking through Black media companies and realized that there were so many in the entertainment sector, but very few that were historically based.
She wanted to start a history channel focusing on people of color on cable. But by the time she got around to executing her vision, digital became the prominent medium.
“Next thing you know, here comes the digital world,” Smith said. “And I’m like: ‘what is this digital platform?’”
She knew that she needed to pivot.

Torch Photo / Malak Kassem
When “Hidden Figures,” a film showcasing three undervalued Black women leading one of the greatest NASA expeditions in history, was released in 2017, it sparked conversation about the overlooked involvement of the Black community in our world’s development. It also prompted the thought: “If these three women did something of this extraordinary greatness, what else did the African diaspora do?”
That’s when she decided to make her pursuit more niche, focusing primarily on the Black community.
“Before starting [to initiate] the streaming service, I asked myself: ‘Where do I begin?’” ”Because you have to crawl before you walk,” Smith said.
Starting Sankofa
Dr. Natalie Byfield, founding director of the institute for critical race and ethnic studies (CRES) at St. John’s became an integral part of making the cinema club a reality.
Smith pitched the idea and Byfield ensured the proper protocol was taken with University administration.
“Her team has been so gracious,” Smith said. “They took the ball when it comes to promoting and marketing on campus” including producing posters around campus.
“One of my favorite parts of the cinema club is when the club members participate and they give stories of how the film ties into their life or their families’ life,” Smith said. “I feel that’s a gem like no other.”
The club mirrors a book club, but rather than watching a film at their own time, participants gather to view a screening together and then follow up through discussion.
Smith has screened many titles since her launch including “Coded Bias,” “Buffalo Soldiers,” “Fighting on Two Fronts,” “Hoxie the First Stand,” “Counter Stories: Rockhill,” “Farming While Black” and “John Lewis: Good Trouble”.
“It’s definitely not about me,” Smith said. “It’s about sharing this content that doesn’t need to be hidden anymore.”
Sankofa Cinema Club meets every fourth Wednesday of the month. Smith hopes to launch a streaming service showcasing Black films in August 2025.
This interview was conducted for a class project in December 2024.