NEW YORK (January 4, 2016)—Season eight of AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange opens with an unflinching portrait of life as an immigrant, as concerns about illegal immigration and refugees reach fever pitch in America and across the world. The documentary Premieres on WORLD Channel on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 18. Jussie Smollett, star of the hit FOX TV show Empire, serves as eighth season host for the series, which is produced by National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC) and co-presented by American Public Television (APT).
Episode one, a documentary called Days of Hope, takes aim at immigration and refugee crises but from an African perspective, putting a human face on the term “immigrant” and ensuring that one never again can view that term without full compassion. It also broadens the discussion to be more embracive of the many countries and ethnicities involved in these issues.
“The scale and sheer numbers of immigrants from Mexico and Central America as well as the Syrian refugee crisis overshadow any conversation about immigration from other communities of color, where the human rights concerns are just as critical. “ said NBPC Director of Programs and Acquisitions and AfroPoP Executive Producer Kay Shaw. “The opportunity to broadcast a beautifully told story about the plight of West Africans facing the same risks and challenges is a reminder that the issue is global, multi-faceted and multi-racial.”
AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange is produced by Angela Tucker and directed by Duana Butler. The series is produced with the generous support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Endowment for the Arts.
For details on AfroPoP, visit www.blackpublicmedia.org. APT distributes the series to the full public television system in February 2016. Viewers may find out when and where to watch, including additional air dates for each of the episodes, by checking local listings or online at www.APTonline.org.
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