"Making Black America" Screener and Panel Discussion

Join us Thursday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m. at 701 Center for Contemporary Art to view a screener of "Making Black America: Through the Grapevine," followed by a panel discussion. The event will begin with a light reception in the art gallery, highlighting the current exhibition, "Oppositional Free Gazing."

Over the course of four weekly episodes, "Making Black America: Through the Grapevine" takes viewers into an extraordinary world that showcases Black people’s ability to collectively prosper, defy white supremacy and define Blackness in ways that transformed America itself.

“For centuries, 'the Grapevine' has connected Black Americans in formal and informal networks not just as a way of communicating but of building and sustaining communities large and small," said Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the program's host, writer and executive producer. "From churches to fraternal and sororal organizations to Black Twitter, this is the story of the making of Black America and how, in the making, a people did more than survive the onslaught of enslavement and segregation. They redefined America and its cultural gifts to the world. All of us are grateful to our partners at CPB and PBS for giving us the opportunity to explore this history and what it can teach us as we struggle to overcome the challenges of our times.”

The screener's panel discussion will be led by Preach Jacobs, fundraising coordinator for South Carolina ETV and Public Radio (SCETV). The panelists are: Dr. Salandra Bowman, chief learning officer for SCETV, Michaela Pilar Brown, executive director for 701 CCA, and Tarish Pipkin (Jeghetto), whose work is included in the current CCA exhibition.

"Making Black America: Through the Grapevine" first premiered on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, at 9:00 p.m. on SCETV, PBS.org and the PBS Video app. The remaining three episodes will air on October 11, 18 and 25, also at 9:00 p.m. on SCETV, PBS.org and the PBS Video app.