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America in Black and White

America in Black and White: The Future of Black America

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17/02/2016

The Future of Black America

BBC Radio 4 - America in Black and White, The Future of Black America

Rajini Vaidyanathan examines how black Americans are represented.

Rajini Vaidyanathan concludes her series looking at race in America by examining how black Americans are represented, and asking what it means to be black in America today.

Travelling widely across the country she hears from families in Atlanta, activists in Missouri and academics in New York City. She speaks to the artist Kehinde Wiley about his subversive attempts to literally paint power differently and to the poet Tracy K. Smith about the vital role stories can play in encouraging empathy, and she hears from the civil rights icon John Lewis why he is using comic books to tell his story.

Rajini discusses what is taught in schools, what is shown on TV, and how the reality of being black in America means new black migrants to the United States are increasingly retaining their immigrant identity to avoid being considered 'African American'. She discusses the next generation of leadership, who can authentically lead the Black Lives Matter movement, and attends a remarkable convention in Baltimore encouraging Americans to have 'courageous conversations about race.'

Producer: Giles Edwards.

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Rajini Vaidyanathan examines some of the underlying issues that America has with race.

Rajini Vaidyanathan examines some of the deep, underlying structural issues that America still has with race.

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