“Making Black America: Through the Grapevine” may not premiere until next month, but some WNED PBS viewers can get a glimpse of the new documentary this week.
Buffalo Toronto Public Media will host a “Making Black America” screening and panel discussion on Wednesday at its WNED PBS Studios. The event will show segments from the four-part series, set to air Oct. 4 on PBS stations nationwide, and follow up each segment with a discussion and Q&A.
Panelists include members of WBFO’s “Buffalo, What’s Next?” program, including Executive Producer and Host Brigid Jaipaul-Valenza, Co-Host Thomas O’Neil-White and Producer Angelea Preston. Joining virtually will be the producer and director of “Making Black America,” Shayla Harris.
Harris is an award-winning independent director and producer based in New York. She is currently co-directing and show-running a four-part series for PBS on the history of gospel, and was previously a senior producer for digital video at Frontline PBS.
She has won an Emmy for “Life, Interrupted,” a documentary series about a young woman with cancer that she shot, edited and produced. In nearly a decade with the New York Times, she earned a National Magazine Award, a George Foster Peabody, an Overseas Press Club Award and several Emmy nominations for her work.
“Making Black America” is a four-part series that chronicles the vast social networks and organizations created by and for Black people. It will recount the establishment of the Prince Hall Masons in 1775 through the formation of all-Black towns and business districts, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, destinations for leisure, and the social media phenomenon known as Black Twitter.
Wednesday’s screening and panel discussion will start at 6:30 p.m. in the WNED PBS Studios, located at 140 Lower Terrace in downtown Buffalo. Free parking will be available on site. The lot is well lit with accessible parking. The entrance to the lot is on Charles Street.
The event is free but attendees are encouraged to register online here and must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Proof of vaccine will be required at the door. Masks are optional.
