Special WJR Simulcast: “Bridging The Racial Divide”
INITIATE VITAL NEW SERIES OF BROADCASTS, “BRIDGING THE RACIAL DIVIDE”
Kingberry Productions, along with Detroit Public Television, will present the first in a series of prime-time, one-hour telecasts on race relations in Metro Detroit on Tuesday, September 26th, at 9 pm. “Bridging the Racial Divide” will be will be co-hosted by former NBC correspondent and news anchor Emery King and WJR’s Paul W. Smith. They will be joined by a number of dynamic and articulate voices in the community representing a variety of backgrounds and points of view.
The airing of this program will become a remarkable community-wide event, with meetings and discussions being planned for seven different locations across the metro area, where groups will watch the special, then share their own thoughts, feelings and experiences relating to racism.
METRO DETROIT MOST SEGREGATED REGION IN U.S.
The 2000 Census named this metropolitan area as the most segregated region in the United States. This reality continues to generate a troubling series of social, economic and political problems. This first “Bridging” special will examine Metro Detroit at the crossroads, exploring both the hope generated by the community’s enormous Super Bowl success and the obstacles to further progress caused by this region’s racial divide.
King, whose Kingberry Productions is producing the series, said: “’Bridging the Racial Divide’…the title says it all. It’s a dialogue that’s really intended to clear the path to common ground, to a better understanding of the racial issues that separate us and keep us from moving forward as a community.”
Smith, whose daily morning show on WJR is a Motown institution, added: “I’m pleased and privileged to be a part of this important effort. We’ll talk about the past and the present, problems and potential, and nothing will be off limits. If these issues are addressed in an open and honest exchange, I think the results will be great for all of us.”
BLACK DINNER/WHITE DINNER FORMAT
The show will be taped before a “live” audience drawn from across the metro area at the Schaever Recital Hall at Wayne State University. Earlier, two dinner discussions were taped at area restaurants, one with seven black participants led by King at Detroit’s Grand City Grille, and the other with seven white participants led by Smith at the Traffic Jam and Snug also in Detroit. Each group discussed the same questions and issues. Three participants from each group will form the panel at Schaever Hall, where video excerpts from each dinner will be shown on a large screen to help focus the discussion.
The two-dinner format was chosen because of the perception that when blacks talk to blacks and whites talk to whites, their discussions of race differ significantly from what they say on those rare occasions when they do talk to each other about race. At those times, political correctness often carries the day, and silence allows suspicion and misunderstanding to grow. The format will help gauge the divide and explore how better understanding can be fostered in each group.
WHICH METRO DETROIT WILL EMERGE?
This first program in the series will examine the question of which Metro Detroit will emerge in the years ahead: the Metro Detroit of Super Bowl week, a focused and bonded region; or the Metro Detroit in the months that followed, wracked with divisive problems. The discussion will address issues such as white privilege, black rage, black vs. white family values, political correctness, and affirmative action.
In addition to Emery King and Paul W. Smith, the panelists will include: Rochelle Riley (columnist, Detroit Free Press), Heaster Wheeler (Executive Director, NAACP-Detroit) R. L’Heureux Lewis (University of Michigan), Nolan Finley (columnist, Detroit News), John Rakolta (Chairman, New Detroit), and Kary Moss (Executive Director, ACLU-Michigan). Because of space limitations, attendance at the Schaever Hall event will be by invitation only.
FUTURE PLANS
The programs that follow, one each quarter for the next year, will focus on race as it relates to topics such as our schools, our neighborhoods, and the news media. Taking these discussions directly to various communities across Metro Detroit, each program will be taped at a different audience venue.
For the past several months, a collaborative comprised of representatives from New Detroit, The National Conference for Community and Justice of Michigan (NCCJ-MI), Masco Corporation Foundation, The Skillman Foundation, DTE Energy Foundation, The Henry Ford, Detroit Renaissance, RHR International and Detroit Public Television, has been assisting Kingberry Productions with the development of this groundbreaking series of telecasts.
Plans are also being developed for an education component that is designed to reach young people from middle school through college and for a fifth program, a one-hour TV documentary that will collect and analyze the most valuable ideas and proposals generated by the discussions in this series.
SIMULCASTS AND COMMUNITY MEETINGS
The program on DPTV, Channel 56, on Tuesday, September 26th at 9 p.m., will be simulcast on Public Radio, WDET, FM, and also on WJR, AM. Earlier on that evening, community groups throughout Metro Detroit will have an advance screening at 7 p.m. and then discuss race relations in the context of the TV discussion. A light dinner (free to participants) will be provided at 6 p.m. Representatives from New Detroit and NCCJ-MI will host these meetings. For more information, including contact information for each of the seven sites, please see the attached flyer.
UNDERWRITING SUPPORT
At a time when funding for the best of causes can be difficult to come by, a number of businesses, foundations and concerned individuals from across the region have given generously to make this series possible. National City Bank has stepped up to become a major supporter of the series. Underwriting has also come from many others, including: Masco Corporation Foundation, Roger Penske, Hudson-Webber Foundation, Comerica Charitable Foundation, Domino’s, Bartech, Walbridge-Aldinger, Dave Bing, John Colina, and Right Management.
While support has been substantial, Kingberry Productions and its collaborative partners continue to seek underwriting that will insure the completion of the full series, as well as the summary documentary and the education component of “Bridging the Racial Divide.”
“This first broadcast is just a beginning,” said Paul W. Smith. “It’s been made possible by our neighbors… businesses, civic groups, foundations, individuals. They’ve put their resources where there concerns are, and they’ve already made a giant step in helping to bring us all together.”
Asked about his hopes for the series, Emery King said, “We hope that our efforts here will serve as a model that is duplicated in the homes, offices, schools and places of worship throughout Detroit, its suburbs, the metro region and our entire state.”
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