SEPTEMBER 20, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz BPM Salutes Afro Latinx Media Makers Recently, a rideshare driver regaled me with the story of how he met his wife. She, a native of Mexico, met him while he, an African American from New Orleans, was on leave from the U.S. Navy. …
SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz The Road to Climate Justice Begins with Powerful Stories .The headlines are daunting: “Racism is Magnifying the Deadly Impact of Rising Heat” (Nature), “Poor Neighborhoods Bear the Brunt of Extreme Heat“ (LA Times), “Black Americans are Drowning Because of Climate Change” (The Black …
September 6, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz It’s Time to Prioritize the Hazing Problem This summer, I spent a week visiting college campuses on the West Coast with my youngest child — a rising high school senior. Among the schools we visited was my alma mater, UC Berkeley. Trudging up …
AUGUST 30, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Denise Greene AfroPoP Turns 15 Next Year! And BPM’s 2022 Open Call Begins Sept. 1 AfroPop: The Ultimate Cultural Experience is public television’s longest-running series exclusively devoted to showcasing content about the Black experience across the African diaspora. Launched in 2008, the award-winning series almost …
AUGUST 16, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Biyi Bandele/photo from Instagram Otu Njama/photo from Facebook BPM Mourns the Loss of Two Nollywood Filmmakers Black Public Media joins our colleagues across the African diaspora in mourning the loss of two prominent Nollywood filmmakers last week. The sudden death of Biyi Bandele …
AUGUST 9, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Cheryl D. Fields The Library of Congress Wants Our Help A couple of weeks ago, I visited the Library of Congress. I hadn’t been there since before former President Obama appointed Carla Diane Hayden Librarian of Congress in 2016. The library was as stunning as …
August 2, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Blueberry Photo by Cheryl D. Fields Sweet Summer! The BPM Family is Hot, Hot, Hot! I spent the last weekend in July at a family reunion in Washington, D.C. Watching four generations of my relatives interact with each other — smiling, laughing and celebrating our …
JULY 26, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz The Importance of Black Women Mentoring Black Women Mable Haddock (left) with Leslie Fields-Cruz My vision and my idea was always to share the achievements and contributions and beauty and talent and artistry of Black people with the world. … To help to …
July 19, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Photo by Andrea Piacquadio at Pexels ‘I’m In!!! … Now What?’ Late last week, we received an announcement about an opportunity that STARZ is offering for screenwriters. The STARZ #TakeTheLead Writers’ Intensive is a collaboration between the National Association of Latino Independent Producers …
July 13, 2022 BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA WEEKLY DISPATCH By Leslie Fields-Cruz Summer is a Great Time for Shorts Perhaps it is because I was born at the beginning of summer, but I just love this season! One of my favorite summer recreations is checking out films featured in the annual PBS Short Film Festival, which for …