January 21, 2021 – Jackson, Miss. – Join Mississippi Public Broadcasting in partnership with Two Mississippi Museums – Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History – for The Black Church Virtual Panel Discussion Event at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 online. Registration is required through Eventbrite here.
THE BLACK CHURCH: This is Our Story, This is Our Song is a four-hour, two-part series that will air on MPB Television and PBS stations nationwide in February. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is executive producer, host and writer of the documentary that traces the 400-year-old story and reveals the broad history and culture of the Black church in America.
MPB’s virtual event will include a screener of the documentary, songs from HBCU choirs, door prizes and the panel discussion. The MPB Education Department will also share details of an essay contest for middle school, high school and college students who submit writings after watching the series as well as educational materials for teachers to use in the classroom.
Panelists for the event are Bishop Ronnie Crudup of New Horizon Church International, Rev. C.J. Rhodes of Mt. Helm Baptist Church, Pamela Junior, director of Two Mississippi Museums; and Lannie Spann McBride, music minister, retired educator and composer. These leaders will share a more local perspective of the church’s impact today. Comedienne/musician Rita Brent will moderate the discussion.
The documentary reveals how Black people have worshipped and, through their spiritual journeys, improvised ways to bring their faith traditions from Africa to the New World, while translating them into a form of Christianity that was not only truly their own, but a redemptive force for a nation whose original sin was found in their ancestors’ enslavement across the Middle Passage.
It explores African-American faith communities on the frontlines of hope and change, featuring interviews with Oprah Winfrey, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson, Bishop Michael Curry, Cornel West, Pastor Shirley Caesar, Rev. Al Sharpton, Yolanda Adams, Rev. William Barber II, BeBe Winans, Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie and more. Through their interviews, viewers will be transported by the songs that speak to one’s soul, by preaching styles that have moved congregations and a nation, and by beliefs and actions that drew African Americans from the violent margins of society.
The two-part series air dates and times are 8-10 p.m. Feb. 16 and Feb. 17 on MPB Television.
PBS, WETA - the leading public broadcasting station in the Washington, D.C. area, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are presenting The Black Church series to the nation.
WETA is partnering with PBS in a national virtual event for THE BLACK CHURCH: This is Our Story, This is Our Song on Thursday, February 11 at 6 p.m. Gates will be the guest of honor. Panelists will include Rev. Dr. Yolanda Pierce, professor and dean of Howard University Divinity School and Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ. To register for that event visit here.
Major corporate support for THE BLACK CHURCH: THIS IS OUR STORY, THIS IS OUR SONG is provided by Johnson & Johnson. Major support is also provided by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., Ford Foundation, and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS and public television viewers.
For more information on MPB, visit mpbonline.org. Find all MPB press releases here.