Following on the heels of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., MSNBC will air three hours of programming devoted to issues of race and racial reconciliation April 11, officials said Friday.
At 9 p.m. ET, MSNBC will premiere Meeting David Wilson, the story of a young man's reconciliation with his ancestors' history as slaves. Immediately following at 10:30 p.m. on MSNBC, NBC News will present A Live Conversation About Race. The 90-minute live discussion, which will be broadcast from Howard University's Washington campus and stream simultaneously on msnbc.com, will focus on racial themes in America. NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams will moderate the event.
Joining Williams as panelists for A Live Conversation About Race are some of America's more important voices on issues facing our nation including radio host Tom Joyner, author Michael Eric Dyson, entrepreneur Malaak Compton-Rock, screenwriter Kriss Turner, writer Kevin Powell, and columnist Mike Barnicle. Tim Wise, the Director of the Association for White Anti-Racist Education (AWARE) and Rev. Buster Soaries will also be featured panelists.
Meeting David Wilson is produced by Official Pictures, with the broadcast sponsored by the Ford Motor Company and Procter & Gamble.
Both the premiere of Meeting David Wilson and the NBC News live discussion event will stream live on msnbc.com. MSNBC.com will also create a special online section for the documentary and feature content that addresses issues discussed in the film, such as race and identity, as well as include other stories and video from pivotal moments in Black history.
Viewers can log on to nightly.msnbc.com or davidwilson.msnbc.com to suggest questions for the broadcast discussion, and to engage in an online forum. Viewers will also be given the opportunity to ask questions of both David Wilsons by logging on to davidwilson.msnbc.com.
NBC News will also simulcast and re-air Meeting David Wilson and A LiveConversation About Race on NBC News 2 Go mobile, available on Verizon.
