I SEE U

A fresh documentary has been released on PBS that explores a rich, but complicated history of the Buffalo Soldiers . Film director Dru Holley says these 19 th century troops fought military conflicts abroad all while being confronted with civil rights struggles at home.  Join us for a special edition of I SEE U that honors the national holiday, JUNETEENTH . Host Eddie Robinson chats with documenta...

Award-winning singer-songwriter  Ruthie Foster  has a voice unlike any other. Her unique style of blending blues, gospel, soul and American roots has inspired many music lovers across the globe. A native of Central Texas, Foster grew up around gospel singers and knew instantly of her passion for music – from singing in rural Texas churches to performing in the military with the  Navy Band . But sh...

Grammy-award  winning mega-producers  Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis  admit to  I SEE U  that they have nothing to prove and yet, so much to say. Although the duo had been working together for over 35 years — writing and producing hits for other artists, they’ve finally released a studio album with their own marquee. ‘ Jam and Lewis: Vol 1 ,’ showcases top-charting vocalists like  Toni Braxton ,  Maria...

With the anniversary of  George Floyd’s death , two preachers — one Black, one White — both of large congregations in Houston, share unguarded perspectives on why some evangelical Christians have largely remained silent on race-related issues in America where social justice concerns are taking center stage.  Dr. Marcus D. Cosby , Senior Pastor of  Wheeler Avenue Baptist  and  Dr. Steve Wells , Sen...

Whether he’s acting in a film, on-stage or involved in a television series, Russell Hornsby ends up delivering a powerful performance full of emotion with a genuine passion for the craft. In a career spanning over two decades, his extensive portfolio includes the infamous boxing promoter, Don King , in Hulu’s “ Mike ,” the Oscar-nominated Paramount film, FENCES , opposite Denzel Washington and Vio...

Legendary actor Glynn Turman remembers a time when hardly any Black men or women were prominently featured in television. Over six decades later, he’s played hundreds of characters in film, TV and on-stage, including work as an acclaimed writer, producer and director – both in theater and television. Notable roles include the 2020 Netflix film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom ; the FX drama series, FARGO...

In the Peacock documentary, Handle With Care , British actor Jimmy Akingbola shares his personal experience of growing up in London’s foster care system. His father disowned him as a baby. The actor’s mother, who suffered from schizophrenia, abandoned him and left him inside an office building when he was 2 years old. Akingbola then found himself in foster care and was raised by a white family for...

Multi-platinum singer-songwriter, Crystal Waters — whose chart-topping ’90s hits include “ Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless) ” and “ 100% Pure Love ,” — has been in the industry for over three decades. Music journalists say Waters paved the way for many Black and female artists in dance music at a time when critics quickly shunned the genre as a passing fad. Unfortunately, her new singles fail to get t...

The biographical film, Chevalier , is based on the life of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges – a Black, French composer and violinist of the 1700s. As the movie unfolds, there’s an intriguing line spoken by Chevalier, in which the lead character, played by actor Kelvin Harrison Jr ., states, “I realized… the more I excelled, the less I was alone.” With those resounding words, combined wit...

The very complicated legacy of entertainer Little Richard is thoroughly examined in a new documentary by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, Lisa Cortés . The film showcases a bold, audacious man who’s trying to navigate his life through sex, drugs, rock and roll, and the Lord – with the help of archival footage mixed with deep, social context from family, friends, scholars, ethnomusicologists, and on-s...

Nearly 80 years ago, a group of Yale scholars decided amongst themselves to add the word, “homosexual,” in the Bible after mistranslating Greek text. Researchers have said this mistake changed the course of modern history as we know it. The misinterpretation also caused a lesbian Christian to explore this incident and earn the trust of those same researchers by capturing their discovery on film. J...

10-year-old Graceyn Hollingsworth has become an internet viral sensation. Her popular YouTube children’s channel , “ Gracie’s Corner ,” features Black and brown animated characters reciting remixed nursery rhymes, soulful vintage poems and original songs in video form. Her father, Javoris Hollingsworth , came up with the idea during the pandemic and noticed the lack of diversity, especially in edu...

Six-time Grammy winner and electronic DJ, Sonny Moore, aka Skrillex , recently released a trove of new music after a nearly decade-long hiatus of full-length solo material. Through a mutual friend, the visionary producer was introduced to a Palestinian vocalist by the name of Nai Barghouti – an acclaimed composer and flute player who’s notably famous for creating her own signature fusion of jazz a...

Only a few descendants of West African slaves remain on a coastal Georgia portion of land called,  Sapelo Island . In the early 1800s, ancestors of the  Gullah Geechee community  were brought to these barrier islands along the nation's southeast Atlantic coast to work on plantations. These slaves acquired land on the island – but decades later, that ownership is almost diminished. Many of the resi...

Zee Clarke received her Harvard MBA and spent over two decades leading teams at FORTUNE 500 companies and tech startups. But after instances of being racially-profiled, experiencing microaggressions at work and even being harassed by police, she realized how breathing exercises were so critical to her mental health – not only to survive, but to also thrive in a world that felt slow to change. Thro...

Award-winning singer-songwriter Ruthie Foster has a voice unlike any other. Her unique style of blending blues, gospel, soul and American roots has inspired many music lovers across the globe. A native of Central Texas, Foster grew up around gospel singers and knew instantly of her passion for music – from singing in rural Texas churches to performing in the military with the Navy Band . But she w...

When an untold history that impacts your own family is buried so deep, how does one know the real importance or value of that piece of information? A 4 th -generation Black entrepreneur, Keewa Nurullah, had asked herself this question throughout her life, until she realized why the truth was hidden in the first place. Her great grandfather owned a tailor shop on “ Black Wall Street ” just before t...

Clean energy researcher Roishetta Ozane is a single mother of six children and lives in a Louisiana town that scientists have called, “the heart of America’s climate crisis.” With her Lake Charles-area home surrounded by refineries, natural gas facilities and petrochemical plants, her family has been inundated with ‘shelter-in-place’ alerts and storm-related emergency alarms throughout their lives...

There is a movement happening that consists of Black and Brown entrepreneurs embracing the craft of the winemaking process. But the wine industry, including suppliers and distributors, may not be so open to embracing, much less investing in these businesses—especially with an industry that has curated an image historically of White gatekeepers. Jennifer McDonald , the founder of Wichita’s first Bl...

Historian Dr. Lindsay Gary felt a passion to showcase the beauty and richness of multiple spots around Houston that would be historically significant within Black communities of the region. But she quickly realized over the course of her analysis that some of those sites had simply disappeared. In her research, she also discovered a vintage book published in 1915 called, “ The Red Book of Houston...

Pulitzer-prize winning author , Bill Keller, argues that incarceration here in America is a shameful waste of lives and money. The former New York Times executive editor says prison rehabilitation has been neglected with only a handful of successful reentry programs for inmates. Join us as Host Eddie Robinson chats unguarded with the founding editor-in-chief of the Marshall Project , Bill Keller....

Author Falisa Ray took notice in her son’s interest and realized early his love for the arts. Instead of pressuring him to pursue law school or the medical field, she was led to embrace his passion and help him navigate through the unpredictable world of the entertainment industry – but not before coming to grips with the rough streets of Chicago’s South Side. Through the course of her own life, R...

As we honor and pay tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on this national holiday weekend, many Black American parents are taking this opportunity to educate their children—and have THE TALK , an unguarded conversation about racism, discrimination and the richness of Black culture. Those sometimes difficult conversations served as inspiration for children’s book author, Tami Charles – w...

For decades, barbershops have served as special places for African-Americans. The barber plays a major role in not only providing hair care services, but for many Black men, in particular, this person is responsible for how their customers are viewed and seen by society. Notions of identity, appearance and character are often assessed, evaluated, measured—even stereotyped by the way a Black man’s...

For decades, members of the Black community and other communities of color have been excluded from owning media broadcast properties.  Recent data  released by the Federal Communications Commission shows that women and minorities are underrepresented in license ownership, particularly in FM commercial radio stations. Will the FCC ramp up policies and legislation to effectively promote diversity of...