For Immediate Release
July 15, 2016
CONTACT: Della Cassia
248-305-3770
dcassia@dptv.org
PBS NEWSHOUR SPECIAL TONIGHT: America in Black & Blue
Followed on Wednesday, July 27 with a special American Black Journal Roadshow on Race Relations at Focus: HOPE
DETROIT (July 15, 2016)- Tonight starting at 9 p.m. on Detroit Public Television (DPTV), PBS will present AMERICA IN BLACK & BLUE, A NEWSHOUR WEEKEND SPECIAL, addressing the early July incidents in Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights, Minnesota, and Dallas, and the interaction between police and communities of color. DPTV’s One Detroit will continue the conversation on July 27 by broadcasting American Black Journal (ABJ) LIVE from Focus: HOPE—a special roadshow episode on racial attitudes in Detroit and beyond.
AMERICA IN BLACK & BLUE will be hosted by journalist Alison Stewart, with reporting from PBS Newshour weekend anchor Hari Sreenivasan, and special correspondents Chris Bury and Michael Hill. After a week of violence, grief and horror, with five police officers shot dead in Dallas, and two African American men shot dead by police officers in Minnesota and Louisiana, this news special will dig deep to explore the roots of these events, competing accounts of responsibility and justice, and televise the conversation that America is having around so many losses, mutual fears, and also around the common ground where progress may be made. The special will draw on recent and upcoming PBS content, including FRONTLINE’s “Policing the Police,” the Gwen Ifill special “America After Ferguson” and the forthcoming documentary, “The Talk,” about the talk that many parents of color have with their kids about interacting with police.
Following this special on July 27, 2016 from 7:30 to 8 p.m. Stephen Henderson, American Black Journal host and editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press will lead a frank conversation with advocates and
community leaders live from Focus: HOPE in Detroit in the wake of recent tragedies in St. Paul, Baton Rouge and Dallas. The conversation will continue online following the live broadcast until 8:30 p.m. at www.americanblackjournal.org
The show will explore hot button topics such as White Privilege, Police & Community Relations, and systemic issues exacerbated by racial attitudes that we all carry but may not readily recognize. Confirmed guests include:
- Agustin Arbulu: Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights
- Dr. Jay Marks: Oakland Schools Student Engagement Consultant—Social Justice/Diversity
- Kurt Metzger: Principal at Kurt R. Metzger & Associates and formerly of Data Driven Detroit
- Kimberly Papillon: National lecturer and consultant on medical, legal and judicial decision-making
- William Jones, CEO of Focus: HOPE
This special live ABJ Roadshow is part of the ongoing coverage by the Detroit Journalism Cooperative called The Intersection. For more information, visit www.detroitjournalism.org
This special program is made possible with support from the Kellogg Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Knight Foundation and Renaissance Journalism.
About Detroit Public Television:
Detroit Public Television (DPTV)-WTVS-TV is the non-commercial, viewer-supported PBS member station serving the nation's 11th largest television market, with 1.5 million weekly viewers in Southeast Michigan and 1.2 million weekly viewers across Canada. DPTV is a leader in programming related to health and the environment, public affairs, arts and culture and children. It is also a leading national producer and distributor of programming for Public Television, and winner of a 2012 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award, as well as the only dual PBS licensee / entertainment label in the country, operating as DPTV Media. For more information, visit www.dptv.org
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