PBS NewsHour Weekend special America in Black and Blue 2020 will premiere Monday, June 15 at 9 p.m. The special will cover the protests on police brutality on black citizens from across the country and "explore the struggle for racial justice, accountability, equity and police reform efforts."
Hosted by Alison Stewart, America in Black and Blue 2020 features interviews with author and cultural critic Roxane Gay, Minnesota police reform advocate and lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong, Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), former Chief of the Orlando Police Department.
"In 2016, we worked with PBS and our producing partners to create America in Black and Blue, a special report about the alarming number of Black lives ended by police officers," said Neal Shapiro, president and CEO of The WNET Group. "The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless others since then necessitate a new look at this continued crisis in America, rooted in our nation's founding. We hope the first-hand accounts, points of view and reporting in this new special serve as a vital reminder that the lives and rights of Black people cannot be ignored, and that we all play a part in bringing an end to injustice, racism, discrimination and violence."
The special will also feature a recent Amanpour and Company interview on the reaction to George Floyd's death with Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer and criminal justice reform activist, conducted by Walter Isaacson.
America in Black and Blue 2020 is produced by Creative News Group LLC in association with WNET and NewsHour Productions. Ann Benjamin is directing with Theresa Lewis as broadcast producer and Leigh Ann Sides as show editorial producer. Dana Roberson is executive producer and Neal Shapiro and Stephen Segaller are executives-in-charge.
