For more than 60 years, PBS KVIE has been committed to our role and responsibility to raise awareness and foster dialogue around systemic issues both nationally and locally. Racism, discrimination, and oppression have no place in our community or country. We stand with our Black colleagues, employees, partners, and the entire Black community and will continue to use our platform to educate, inform, and encourage meaningful conversations. In the coming weeks we will be sharing several national and local programs that focus on the topics of race and racism in America and plan to keep this dialogue going.
ON-AIR PROGRAMMING
A number of new programs focused on racism, inequality, and injustice will be airing this week and in the coming weeks.
- Friday, June 5 at 7:30PM and re-airs at 9PM: In a new episode of Studio Sacramento, Dr. Bruce Haynes of UC Davis, Sam Starks of MLK365, and Dr. Christopher Towler of Sacramento State discuss race and injustice with host Scott Syphax.
- Friday, June 5 at 8PM: The new special, Race Matters: America in Crisis – A PBS NewsHour Special, will focus on the frustration pouring out onto American streets, outrage about police brutality, and America’s deep systemic racial disparities in the economy, education, criminal justice system, and health care, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will also include grassroots voices from around the country and round-table conversations with thought leaders and other newsmakers, anchored by managing editor Judy Woodruff with contributions from senior national correspondent Amna Nawaz, correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, and special correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault
- Monday, June 8 at 7:30PM: Rob on the Road: Rob at Home will feature a conversation with Cassandra Walker Pye on injustice, understanding, and passion for people. Topics include Cassandra’s list of action steps we all can take to help elevate the unheard, the history of systemic discrimination, and why the act of listening to others matters.
- Monday, June 15 at 9PM: America in Black and Blue 2020 will report from across the country, and include interviews with key leaders and participants in the struggle for racial justice, accountability and equity, as well as voices from law enforcement. As the latest crisis of police violence on Black citizens — and outraged protests and ensuing violence — engulf the nation, this PBS special will bring context and insight. It will update reporting from the original America in Black and Blue, which first aired in 2016, as well as The Talk – Race in America. Correspondents will report from Minneapolis, Georgia, New York, and elsewhere, and interviews from PBS NewsHour Weekend, Amanpour and Company, and other PBS national and local programming will be included. More details are forthcoming.
STREAMING PROGRAMMING
A number of programs are now available to stream for free and more will be made available. Programs listed below can be streamed online and in the PBS App. And a special curated collection will be available to stream free on pbs.org, with titles provided in association with Black Public Media.
- America’s Heartland: African Americans in California’s Heartland: This thought provoking documentary examines the history of African Americans in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada from the Gold Rush through the 1950s.
- America’s Heartland: African Americans in California’s Heartland – The Civil Rights Era: African Americans struggled to receive necessities such as equality in education, housing, and job opportunities. Through historic images, personal stories, and events such as the Rumford Housing Act and the Black Panther rally on the Capitol steps, this documentary examines those issues and the changes the Sacramento region experienced.
- The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross: A chronicle of African American history, from the origins of slavery on the African continent through more than four centuries of remarkable events.
- Reconstruction: America After the Civil War: A 4-part series that explores the transformative years when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss and African Americans forged a new, more equal place in American social and political life, only to face the backlash of segregation and institutionalized disempowerment whose legacy persists today.
- Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise: A detailed exploration of how the civil rights movement impacted the country, including successes and failures related to political and economic equality.
- Independent Lens: Tell Them We Are Rising: Though much of its history was eclipsed by the explosiveness of the 1960s, the essential role the nation’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) played in shaping black life, creating a black middle class and dismantling segregation cannot be overstated.
- Independent Lens: The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution: Stanley Nelson’s award-winning, riveting look at an earlier era of conflict and how the Black Panthers provided community services while advocating for more radical national change.
- Independent Lens: Always in Season: A grieving mother embarks on a quest for racial justice after her teenage son’s suspicious death.
- Independent Lens: The First Rainbow Coalition: Notable community groups in 1960s Chicago bridge race and ethnicity to form a surprising alliance.
- John Lewis – Get in the Way: Follow the courageous journey of John Lewis, from his youth in the segregated South, through his leadership within the Civil Rights movement, to his current role as a powerful voice in Congress.
- FRONTLINE: Policing the Police: Go inside the Newark Police Department as it struggles to implement mandated reforms.
- ViewFinder: The Time is Now – Nathaniel Colley: Explore the life of Nathaniel Colley, one of Sacramento’s earliest African American lawyers, and how he spent 50 years shaping the course of American history.
- PBS Digital Studios will curate a themed playlist featuring wide-ranging content from some of its most popular series, including Say It Loud, Above the Noise, Origin of Everything, and Crash Course. Programs explore The Origin of Race in the USA, Should We Police Our Police, The Reason #BlackTwitter Exists (And Is Totally Awesome), What Does Resistance Look Like, and many more.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
PBS is preparing a number of resources to help families and educators. This list is preliminary and will expand over time.
- PBS KIDS will offer families resources to discuss race, racism, civil rights, current events, and more with young children, including a virtual event on YouTube on Tuesday, June 9 at 12:30PM with parents, teachers, and child development experts.
- PBS Parents offers lists of books celebrating Black culture, advice on teaching children about Black history, and ideas on how Black art can spark conversations with children about history.
- PBS LearningMedia will offer materials to help educators talk with students about race in America and current events, including classroom-ready resources for a variety of grade levels aligned to state and national standards. Professional learning materials for educators will also be available later this month.
- A list of resources currently available can be found here, including an examination of implicit bias, an exploration of protest and politics, a rundown on gentrification, and more.
SHARE YOUR STORY
Additionally, PBS American Portrait invites people across the country to share their stories about race and current events with a new prompt, “Now is the time…” Stories can be uploaded to American Portrait at pbs.org/americanportrait and may be included in a featured collection of personal stories from Americans grappling with racism and its impact, past and present. PBS American Portrait will air two new specials this fall and a 4-part docuseries in January 2021 that spotlight American stories, including how the far-reaching impact of the events of 2020 have affected our everyday lives.