What is being done to protect the mental and physical health of Black men and women? How can the voices of young Black people help combat racism? How can we create equitable opportunities to gain wealth in Black communities? The fourth season of Racism: Challenging Perceptions (RCP) is set to explore these issues with a new group of professionals and guests hoping to find solutions to these problems.
Season four of RCP includes two episodes, each featuring two discussions with guests and a moderator. The new episodes will be broadcast on VPM’s YouTube channel on September 25 and 26 at 7 p.m. where audience members can engage in a live Q&A with panelists using YouTube’s chat feature. The episodes will be available to watch on-demand in the PBS App and on the series webpage the following day.
“We’re excited to begin a fourth season of RCP where we’ll continue to spotlight individuals who are working toward solutions for various problems caused by systemic racism,” said Karen Wells, M.Ed., VPM’s community impact director. “It’s important that we continue to bring attention to these issues by having honest discussions about how our systems can be improved.”
Each panel discussion is moderated by Adrienne Cole Johnson, a community builder, skilled facilitator and strategist who has been committed to creating intentional impact across various power sectors for 20+ years.
The first episode of the new season will look at mental well-being among Black women and how youth voices in the Black community can help shed light on some of these issues. The second episode will dive into the issues of physical and mental well-being among Black men, before also discussing the opportunities to strengthen wealth-building in Black communities.
“We need to know that we are powerful,” said Keonna Knight, M.Ed, Courage Coach & Well-Being Educator, Founder & CEO of Heal with Keonna and a guest in the first episode. “Knowing our history and knowing who we are, there are so many spaces that we go into that will try to trick us into questioning ourselves and our value. You need people in the space who are also going to advocate for you.”
Viewers can follow along with an interactive audience toolkit and also watch the previous three seasons of RCP at vpm.org/talk.
Launched in 2020, RCP is a discussion series dedicated to exploring the cultural, social and economic impacts of systemic racism on our communities while empowering communities to keep the conversations going. Through conversations with local experts and leaders, the series highlights the disparities racism creates within our systems, including education, wealth building and housing.
