A&E Unmasks Hate in Powerful New Documentary Series GENERATION KKK, Today

By: Jan. 10, 2017
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A&E Network, a leader in thought-provoking programming, announced today the compelling documentary series, GENERATION KKK. By actively targeting families and indoctrinating children, membership in the Ku Klux Klan is on the rise, causing America to come face to face with its stark divisions. In "Generation KKK," cameras follow four prominent Klan families who each have a family member trying to escape the Ku Klux Klan. This series pulls back the curtain on the organization that the Anti-Defamation League calls "a racist, anti-Semitic movement with a commitment to extreme violence to achieve its goals of racial segregation and white supremacy," to show its effects on American families as members grapple with the consequences of leaving. The announcement was made today by Rob Sharenow, Executive Vice President and General Manager of A&E and Lifetime. GENERATION KKK premieres on January 10 th at 10 PM ET/PT on A&E.

"This series gives viewers an unprecedented look at what it is like to be born into hate. Our producers gained access to Klan families allowing for full immersion into this secret world and its impact on the next generation," said Sharenow. "'Generation KKK' brings viewers inside the places where hatred and prejudice are born and bred, and carried forward or not."

Throughout eight one-hour episodes, the series follows four families: an "Imperial Wizard" who hopes to groom his teenage daughter to take his place; an Iraq war veteran and proud member of the KKK determined to raise his four-year-old son to embrace his views; a young man who sees his close friend and Klan leader as the father he never had, asked to pledge his loyalty to the KKK; and a fifth-generation Klan family struggling to keep up the legacy.

The series will also follow a network of anti-hate and peace activists working to break the cycle, by helping to convince members to leave the hate group. The team consists of Daryle Lamont Jenkins, the co-founder of One People's Project, an organization that monitors and investigates hate groups; speaker, author and peace educator Arno Michaelis, a former skinhead who joined the white power movement at the age of 16; and Bryon Widner, a reformed Neo-Nazi and subject of the documentary Erasing Hate, who spent sixteen years as a skinhead until he realized the environment wasn't best for his son. These activists develop deep relationships with Klan families attempting to convince them to hang up their robes and finally leave the group for good.

"Generation KKK" is produced for A&E Network by This Is Just A Test (TIJAT). Executive producers for TIJAT are Aengus James, Colin King Miller, Cynthia Childs and Paul Lima. Executive producers for A&E Network are Elaine Frontain Bryant, Amy Savitsky and Evan Lerner. A+E Networks holds international distribution rights for "Generation KKK."The series will premiere across A&E and Crime + Investigation channels in over 100 territories worldwide.

About This Is Just A Test Media This is just a test. We make television series, films, commercials, interactive, scripted and non-scripted, long-form and short-form. Our work has received numerous awards and honors, including special recognition from the White House and United Nations for awareness on issues/causes. The company was founded by good friends, Aengus James and Colin King Miller. This is only a test.

About A&E Network A&E leads the cultural conversation through high-quality, thought provoking original programming with a unique point of view. Whether it's the network's distinctive brand of award-winning disruptive reality, groundbreaking documentary, or premium scripted drama, A&E always makes entertainment an art. The A&E website is located ataetv.com. Follow us on Twitter attwitter.com/aetvand Facebook atfacebook.com/AETV. For more press information and photography please visit us atpress.aenetworks.com.

SOURCE A&E Network



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