AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange, a well-known documentary series, is commemorating its historic 15th season with a thorough examination of Black art.
This is the first season in which the whole show is based on a single topic. The award-winning public media series about Black culture and life, co-produced by Black Public Media (BPM) and WORLD Channel, will feature groundbreaking visual artist Bill Traylor, internationally renowned recording star and activist Angélique Kidjo, traditional Mozambican dancer and storyteller Atanásio Nyusi, and legendary jazz musician Thelonious Monk.
On Monday, April 3, at midnight ET, the season premiere of “Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters” will begin streaming exclusively on Black Public Media’s YouTube channel. Later that evening, at 8:00 p.m. ET, it will air on WORLD Channel. Weekly premieres of the new episodes of the series, which American Public Television (APT) distributes and co-presents, will occur on WORLD Channel until May 1.
Leslie Fields-Cruz, executive director of BPM and producer of AfroPoP, said: “When we created AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange, it was our hope that we would be able to bring stories of modern Black life to public media audiences and help augment viewers’ ideas of what Black life is and can be.
Fields-Cruz also stated: “Watching the show enter its 15th season, a milestone that comes as a consequence of the effort and perseverance of so many individuals over the years, is an awe-inspiring and humbling event that fills me with immense appreciation.”
The program debuted in 2008 and focuses a spotlight on all regions of the African diaspora. With the completion of this season, it will have shown 87 feature and short films by well-known filmmakers like George Amponsah, Joel Zito Arajo, Violeta Ayala, Samuel “Blitz the Ambassador” Bazawule, Yaba Blay, Barron Claiborne, Rebecca Richman Cohen, Bobbito Garcia, Thomas Allen Harris, Eric Kabera, Terence Nance, Raoul Peck, Sam Pollard, Michèle Stephenson, and Marco Williams.
Chris Hastings, executive producer for WORLD Channel at GBH in Boston, Massachusetts, stated: “WORLD Channel is extremely happy to have been the home of AfroPoP since 2010, and to have joined forces with BPM to executive produce the series in recent years.”
“We are eager for what the future holds for fresh and unheard tales as this one-of-a-kind series celebrates its 15th anniversary with an emphasis on the contributions of Black artists to global culture,” Hastings also said.
In order to promote a more just and inclusive future, Black Public Media (BPM) broadcasts tales about the worldwide Black experience and promotes the growth of creative content producers. BPM has been addressing the needs of neglected and unserved consumers for more than 40 years.
The historical, modern, and structural barriers to the creation and dissemination of Black tales are still being addressed by BPM. Visit blackpublicmedia.org and follow BPM on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @BLKPublicMedia for additional information.
WORLD Channel features the top news, documentaries, and programs from public media. The topics are examined in WORLD’s original series, which also amplifies the voices of individuals who are often disregarded by the media. The multicast 24/7 channel aids viewers in comprehending movements, conflicts, and civilizations from throughout the world.
Its original work has received several awards highlighting variety of content and creators, including a Peabody Award, an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, an International Documentary Association Award, a National News and Documentary Emmy Award, two Webby Awards, and many more. WORLD is carried by 193 member stations in areas where 75% of US TV consumers live.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts and Artworks all provide funding to WORLD Channel. WORLD is syndicated by American Public Television and produced by GBH in collaboration with WNET (APT). Go to WORLDChannel.org to learn more.
The nation’s public television stations get the majority of their top-rated, high-caliber programming from American Public Television (APT).
APT was started in 1961, and each year it sends out 250 new programs and more than a third of the top 100 public television shows in the United States. Popular dramas, documentaries, how-to shows, old movies, kids’ series, and news and current affairs programs are all part of APT’s extensive library.
Watch Afro PoP’s trailer for Season 15 right here.
Victor Trammell is a digital media producer, freelance journalist, editor, and author. He was formerly a Chief Contributor at the Black Then History Network and Your Black World News. Mr. Trammell is also a media holdings investor (Creatd Inc.) and previously wrote content for the Michael Baisden Show, a nationally syndicated radio program.
