Explore Black Activism And The Heart Of American Democracy This Month On WORLD Channel

Black activism, so often the driving, unsung force of American democracy, yet many times the first voice silenced, is in the spotlight this month on WORLD Channel. As people across the nation grapple with the growing COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis, an unprecedented assault on the peaceful transfer of power in American government and also prepare to welcome a new administration, WORLD is highlighting two films that showcase the power of the Black vote and community activism in America.

On Monday, January 18 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - WORLD brings audiences Metcalfe Park: Black Vote Rising. Directed by Brad Lichtenstein and Miela Fetaw, the documentary tells the story of mother-daughter activists Danell Cross and Melody McCurtis, two women living in and fighting for Metcalfe Park, a predominantly Black neighborhood in Milwaukee. When the April 2020 Wisconsin primary, held during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in nearly 16% of Black voters being disenfranchised in Milwaukee (the largest city in the key swing state), Cross and McCurtis became determined to prevent this from happening again. Metcalfe Park: Black Vote Rising follows the pair as they go door to door in Metcalfe Park, working to help residents realize the importance of their votes for the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election even in the face of reduced polling stations, disinformation campaigns, and the threat of the novel coronavirus.

Bringing voting and census information, COVID safety kits, food staples and more, Cross and McCurtis are in a fight against the surging pandemic and citizens who feel they have been left behind by those in charge. In the race to November, will the women be able to make a difference?

Metcalfe Park: Black Vote Rising airs nationwide on WORLD and streams on worldchannel.org on January 18 at 9 p.m. ET (8pm CT) as part of the WORLD Channel series Local,USA.

Community activism is in the spotlight again on Tuesday, January 19 with The Area by David Schalliol. The Area presents the five-year odyssey of the residents of Englewood, a South side Chicago neighborhood, where hundreds of Black American families are being expelled from their homes by a multi-billion-dollar freight company. An exploration of community ties, friendships, and history, The Area follows homeowner-turned-activist Deborah Payne, who vows to be "the last house standing," and also examines Black home ownership and grassroots activism as the remaining families in Englewood unite to fight their displacement and also struggle to come to terms with a changing community.

The Area premieres on Tuesday, January 19 at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT/9 p.m. PT) as part of the series AMERICA REFRAMED from WORLD and American Documentary, Inc. As part of America ReFramed, the series which presents independent documentaries showcasing the ever-evolving contours of life in the United States of America, the film will be available for broadcast viewing on WORLD and will also stream on worldchannel.org, amdoc.org (the online home of American Documentary Inc.), on LinkTV.org and the LinkTV app on Apple TV, YouTube and Roku platforms, and all station branded PBS platforms including PBS.org, and on PBS apps for iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast.

Viewers can visit worldchannel.org to find the WORLD Channel station in their area or to stream programming.

To post a comment, you must register and login.