"BUILDING OUR CHILDREN'S SELF-ESTEEM
WITH EDUCATIONAL AND
RECREATIONAL MEDIA"
Here goes...EDUCATION, FUN, AND FANTASY
Meet the guys who create the programs that entertain and educate kids and grown-ups alike.
LEO SULLIVAN and FLOYD NORMAN

The two filmmakers met in the summer of 1960. Floyd Norman was working as an animation artist at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA and Leo Sullivan, fresh out of art school, was looking for a job. The meeting at Disney's was not to be a one time thing for the two of them found that they had a lot in common. Both Leo and Floyd had made films while attending high school. The two of them shared the same fascination with the animated films of Walt Disney and Warner Brothers. Both, at a young age, built animation cameras and produced crudely made but very funny films. It was only natural that they would work together. At first, the films were just for fun. Leo wrote and directed a cartoon short on the story of Christopher Columbus and later, Floyd and Leo produced an elaborate animated fantasy tale. None of these films were made to sale, but they helped land Leo his first professional job in the animation industry.

Leo's credits span from the Beany and Cecil Show to the first Fat Albert Special on NBC to Tiny Toons where he won an Emmy for Timing Direction. Leo's years of experience resulted in him being appointed as Studio Manager for a Hong Kong animation company (Pacific Rim) in China and the Philippines. Leo was in China in 1989, during the Tiananmen Square massacre, training Chinese to become animators, layout artists, inbetweeners, and cell inkers and painters. The significance of this is that at the time, the only Black people that the Chinese workers in the studio knew about were Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, Michael Jackson and Leo Sullivan.

Over the years both Leo and Floyd worked at various animation studios. During Floyd's stint at the Walt Disney Studios, he started writing for their publishing department. He became a story editor for Disney's little books and Mickey Mouse syndicated comic strip. Floyd wrote for the two multimillion dollar hit animated features Toy Story I and II.

The two creators of this site have a total combined 90+ years in the animation industry. They are among the many black men and women who are behind the scenes bringing forth animated entertainment to your children. Most of these artisans do not get any recognition in the industry. Leo Sullivan and Floyd Norman are among this group.

Leo and Floyd have been honored for their talents and collaborative works twice (1979 and 1991) by the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in Oakland, California along with such greats as, Lena Horne, Esther Rolle, Michael Schultz, Clarence Muse, Reginald and Warrington Hudlin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Raymond St. Jacques, Herb Jeffries, Earl Father Hines, Diana Sands, and Paul Winfield, just to name a few.

An excerpt from a letter to Leo Sullivan from the Board of Directors of the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Inc. "The Board of Directors of Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Inc. was indeed delighted to be able to again highlight the little known work you have been doing for many years. Because you do your job well and make quality contributions to the projects assigned to you, you have been able to open film industry doors for other African Americans. However, the public knows very little about the people who work behind the scenes in the movie industry. You are a wonderful role model for our young people but if they do not ever hear of your accomplishments, they can hardly aspire to be able to play a small role in bringing to public view, the work that artists like you and Mr. Floyd Norman are doing. We thank you for your struggle, your high standards and for accepting our invitation to become members of the Hall of Fame."

With their backgrounds as filmmakers, animators, directors, and writers in various facets of the entertainment and educational industries and through their companies Vignette Films, Inc. and Vignette Multimedia, they produce and distribute African American videos and other media to schools, libraries, African American bookstores, art galleries, and boutiques. Under the auspices of Vignette Multimedia, they have participated in several Black Expos, Black History Month Celebrations, and other Black conventions throughout the United States. When the internet opened up another line of communication, Leo and Floyd seized upon this opportunity to show positive images for Black children to relate to: Images like being the leader, being the hero, being the thinker, being the one out front meeting the challenges, and solving the problems without being the comic relief.

Afrokids.com is aware of the many agendas in the African American community and realize that the basic connection is being Black, no matter what the agenda is. What we are trying to do is offer our skills and talents in presenting to our children images that may be Pan African American to Euro-African American; Urban to Suburban; and, Multicultural to Mainstream. This is Afrokids.com's agenda. What we have learned in our years of experience in working for mainstream companies is basically, children have no agenda.

There are over ten thousand mainstream children's sites and only ten African American children's sites to-date.

Now we ask of you: Spread the word. Give us your support. Send in any suggestions. WRITE TO US. What features would you like to see? Would you like us to expand on existing features? Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.


Copyright 1999/2007 by Leo D. Sullivan / All rights reserved