ABC News spoke with organizers of the 60th Anniverasy of the March on Washington event,Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III. They both state that much work still needs to be done to achieve King's dream.
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Saturday, August 26, 2023
Sunday, June 13, 2021
ABC Airing in ‘Juneteenth: Together We Triumph – A ‘Soul of a Nation’ Special Event’
In the interview, Obama tells Strahan the following: “We’re not all going to live in a perfect kumbaya society. But we can make it better by working and by reaching out and by assuming the best in each other. And if enough of us do that, we move that boulder up the hill.”
A collaboration between ABC News and ABC Entertainment, “Juneteenth: Together We Triumph – A ‘Soul of a Nation’ Special Event,” will present an enriching evening of celebration and resilience in observance of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating when the enslaved persons in Texas learned of their freedom. Leslie Odom Jr. will guest host two hours of intimate storytelling and powerful tributes with performances by Jimmie Allen, Chloe Bailey (of Chloe x Halle), Leon Bridges and H.E.R.
This powerful special event will include the following stories by ABC News anchors and correspondents:
- Linsey Davis delves into allyship and the historic partnerships observed in the last year between the Black community and white neighbors in small towns and Black and Asian American religious leaders in urban areas. Davis explores the nuances of performative allyship versus genuine collaboration.
- Deborah Roberts opens up her own kitchen for an in-depth look into the origins, history and meaning of soul food. She looks at how the racial reckoning in the last year has influenced Black cuisine.
- Kenneth Moton travels south where the struggles and discrimination faced by Black farmers are front and center, and money earmarked in the stimulus package for this group may provide hope and relief.
- Janai Norman showcases a new wave of bold artists who are using their art to inspire change, spark difficult conversations, and ultimately provide a cultural lens.
- Steve Osunsami introduces viewers to a Black business that helped build the nation brick by brick for more than 100 years. He also spotlights how Black-owned businesses and the “Buy Black Movement” endured during a time of racial reckoning.
- Zachary Kiesch brings viewers more unaired footage of his “Soul of a Nation” interview with H.E.R.
This is the second consecutive year ABC News is producing a special to honor the history and significance of the Juneteenth tradition. In 2020, ABC News’ primetime special “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming” was the No. 1 program across the board in its time slot. It is currently streaming on Hulu.
“Soul of a Nation” and its respective specials on the year after George Floyd’s murder and observance of Juneteenth are the latest original programming from ABC News, which has a renewed focus on telling diverse stories across the news division. Previous programming includes the aforementioned No. 1-rated “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming”; the three-day, division-wide series “Pandemic – A Nation Divided” on the disparity in race and class amid the pandemic; “America in Pain: What Comes Next?” on the protests and outrage across the country in response to the killing of George Floyd, police brutality and systemic racism against Black Americans; the month-long reporting series “Turning Point”; and the pre-election special “America’s Future: The Power of the Latino Vote.”
Friday, April 09, 2021
Kim Godwin to become president of ABC News
Disney has found the next president of ABC News.
Kimberly Godwin, the executive vice president of CBS News, is in the final stages of negotiations with Disney to become president of ABC News, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.
Godwin, a 14-year veteran of CBS, would become the first Black woman to lead a broadcast news division. Godwin would report to Peter Rice, the chairman of Disney’s entertainment division who has been conducting a months-long search for his next news chief.
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
ABC NEWS ANNOUNCES RACHEL SCOTT HAS BEEN PROMOTED TO WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
ABC & ESPN to air President Obama Town Hall on Race and Policing
With the recent tragic events in Minneapolis, Baton Rouge and Dallas still fresh on the minds of Americans, President Obama is expected to participate in a Disney Media Networks town hall this week titled "The President and the People: A National Conversation."
The town hall will be moderated by "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir and held in Washington D.C. It will focus on candid discussions on race relations, justice, policing and equality by the members of the community. ESPN's Jemele Hill will join Muir.
The one-hour event will come just days after President Obama attended a Dallas memorial for five police officers shot dead last week by a sniper. It also comes after two black men were killed by officers in Louisiana and Minnesota -- controversial shootings that sparked a wave of protests.
"We turn on the TV or surf the internet, and we can watch positions harden and lines drawn and people retreat to their respective corners," Obama said today during the memorial. "We see all this, and it's hard not to think sometimes that the center won't hold. And that things might get worse. I understand. I understand how Americans are feeling. ... I'm here to say we must reject such despair. I'm here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. And I know that because I know America."
The town hall is set to air Thursday at 8 p.m. ET and will be simulcast commercial-free on ABC, ESPN, Freeform, ABCNews.com, Freeform Digital, Watch ABC, Watch ESPN, Yahoo, ABC News’ Facebook page and YouTube channel as well as ABC Radio.