Hearst Television premieres the special To Be An American: Identity, Race And Justice July 2. Soledad O’Brien hosts. O’Brien, who hosts Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien, is touring American on her “Matter of Fact Listening Tour.”
Hearst Television produces the syndicated public affairs show she hosts.
“This leg of the Listening Tour expands on the original Hard Truth About Bias by focusing on the challenges of an American Identity and by asking what unites the United States,” said Emerson Coleman, Hearst Television senior vice president of programming, who is executive in charge of production for Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien. “We take a look at the contributions and conflicts that both separate us and bring us together. Through these stories, first person accounts, performances and interviews, we’ve created moments that help us envision what it is that truly makes America exceptional.”
The tour’s first episode, The Hard Truth About Bias: Images and Reality, initially streamed in October 2020 and was on TV in February 2021.
To Be An American: Identity, Race And Justice airs between July 2 and July 5 in primetime slots on Hearst Television stations in 26 markets. It will then air July 10 at noon on the A&E Network, and July 11 at 10 a.m. and July 18 at 10:30 a.m. (all times Eastern) on A&E sister network FYI. A&E and FYI are owned by Hearst Television’s parent company.
“The continuing conversation in this country about what it means to be an American is at the heart of both what divides us and unites us,” O’Brien said. “Our special provides a platform for a diversity of voices to explore how identity, race and other points of connection or contention play into the narrative of who we are.”
Viewers will be taken on a tour across the middle of the country from Denver to Kansas City on I-70 to meet their fellow Americans. Identity, Race And Justice features guests from academia, literature and entertainment, including historians Eric Foner and Annette Gordon-Reed, comedian Gina Brillon and 1619 Project creator Nikole Hannah-Jones. Matter of Fact contributors Jessica Gomez and Joie Chen provide reports from around the country.
