American Documentary

Race in America Continues on WORLD Channel with Three New Films in June

Public media producer continues to share stories of diverse communities across the country

Boston, MA (May 24, 2021) – WORLD Channel, a national public media broadcast, online and social media platform with news and documentaries humanizing complex issues from across the globe, continues its Race in America series with three new films in June, covering issues of race and diversity in communities across the country.

Launched in the Fall of 2020, Race in Americais a series of iconic documentaries and events exploring historical and cultural stories about race and civil rights in America, as well as the political forces shaping today’s world. Race in America films are broadcast nationwide on WORLD Channel and are available for streaming at worldchannel.org.

“Over the past year, we’ve seen a racial reckoning across our country, sparked by the murder of George Floyd last spring. At WORLD Channel, we want to acknowledge this cultural shift, sharing stories of diverse communities and embracing the differences that make us one country,” said Chris Hastings, executive producer at WORLD Channel at GBH in Boston.

The three films premiering on WORLD Channel in June include:

• America ReFramed: The Falconer
  The Falconer is a story of second chances: for injured birds of prey, for an abandoned plot of land, for a group of teenagers who have dropped out of high school, and for Maryland resident Rodney Stotts. Dotted with abandoned buildings and towering trees, Oak Hill’s former juvenile prison complex is full of potential as far as Rodney Stotts is concerned. One of only a handful of African American falconers in the country, he envisions a refuge for the animals he loves and transformative opportunities for his stressed community in the Washington, D.C. metro area. America ReFramed: The Falconer premieres on Tuesday, June 1st at 8:00 p.m. ET on WORLD Channel.

• America ReFramed: Meltdown in Dixie
  In rural Orangeburg, SC, in the wake of the Charleston Massacre, a battle erupts between the Sons of Confederate Veterans and an ice cream shop owner forced to fly the Confederate flag in his parking lot. The flag has flown in Orangeburg since 2000 when former shop owner Maurice Bessinger raised it over his property in protest over the flag being taken down from the SC State House dome. Before his death, Bessinger, a self-avowed segregationist, deeded the plot of land where the flagpole stood to the local Sons of Confederate Vets chapter to ensure that the flag would continue to fly. America ReFramed: Meltdown in Dixiepremieres on Tuesday, June 8th at 8:00 p.m. ET on WORLD Channel.

America ReFramed is a WORLD Channel documentary series produced in partnership with American Documentary.

• Growing Up Black: A Stories from The Stage Special
  What does it mean to grow up Black in America, a country too often divided by race? Bullied by a group of kids, Ben finds out he is not alone, and Angie learns about how far we have come and how far we have to go in a chance encounter she will never forget. The Webby Award-winning film Stories from The Stage: Growing up Blackwill be presented June 6-11 at 9:30 p.m. ET (check your local listings) on WORLD Channel.

• The Conversation Remix
  In 2015, the New York Times presented the Op-Doc series A Conversation on Race. Created by Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster’s Rada Studio, the series featured interviews and thoughts on race following the 2014 killing of Michael Brown and resulting calls for justice. The Conversation Remix is three short films that revisit, remix, and refocus the interviews and conversations of the 2015 series with new reflections, home video, life updates, and graphics. The series explores how the subjects of the original series have changed with the passing of time and introduces new players in the wake of the racial awakenings of 2020. The three films, For Our Girls: Conversations with Black Women,Learning to Breathe: Conversations with Young Black Men, and Good White People: A Conversation with White People are available for streaming on the WORLD Channel Youtube channel and the WORLD Channel website.

In addition, WORLD Channel will offer a series of films for streaming on PBS Passport. Season 1 of the landmark civil rights series Eyes on The Prize is now available for streaming on PBS Passport, in addition to broadcast dates throughout the remainder of 2021.

With a broad array of broadcast and streaming options in June, WORLD Channel’s goal is to create a learning experience around the issue of race, an experience that furthers the conversation on how to improve racial inequalities and inequities. Explore the viewing guide for the Race In America collection of films and join our social conversation with #RaceInAmerica.

For more information and films, please visit www.WORLDchannel.org/ or follow @worldchannel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About America ReFramed

America ReFramed is a co-production of the WORLD Channel and American Documentary, Inc. The series curates a diverse selection of independent documentaries that brings to national audiences compelling stories which illuminate the changing contours of our ever-evolving country. Viewers will be immersed in stories that span the spectrum of American life, from the streets of towns big and small to its exurbs and country roads. The documentary series presents an array of personal voices and experiences through which we learn from our past, understand our present and are challenged to seek new frameworks for America’s future. America ReFramed is the recipient of a Peabody Award and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for broadcast journalism. The series has earned several Christopher, GRACIE, Telly and Cine Golden Eagle Awards, as well as multiple nominations for Emmy, Independent Documentary Association and Imagen Awards.

America ReFramed Series Credits

Executive Producers: Justine Nagan, Chris Hastings, Chris White
Supervising Producer: Carmen L. Vicencio

Follow America ReFramed on Facebook and Twitter
@americareframed @worldchannel

America ReFramed Co-Producers

American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia arts organization dedicated to creating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories that express opinions and perspectives rarely featured in mainstream media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing collaborative strategic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online and in community settings. These activities are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to educational opportunities and community participation. AmDoc is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

WORLD Channel shares the best of public media in news, documentaries and programming. WORLD’s original series examine the issues and amplify the voices of those often ignored by mainstream media. The multicast 24/7 channel helps audiences understand conflicts, movements and cultures from around the globe. Its original work has won a Peabody Award, an Alfred I. duPont- Columbia Award, a National News and Documentary Emmy Award and many others honoring diversity of content and makers. WORLD is carried by 189 member stations in markets representing over 73% of US TV households. Funding for WORLD Channel is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts and Artworks. WORLD is produced by GBH in partnership with WNET and is distributed by American Public Television (APT). Find out more at WORLDChannel.org.