ABC O&Os To Premiere ‘Our America: Living While Black’ Multiplatform Docuseries

ABC Owned Television Stations go beyond the statistics in a five-part docuseries, Our America: Living While Black, premiering Monday, Oct. 19, through Friday, Oct. 23, airing a different series each day, culminating into an hour-long documentary that airs the weekend of Oct. 24.

The multiplatform docuseries shares stories of multigenerational Black families from across America navigating generations of systemic racism, policing, healthcare, education, wealth and housing disparities while seeking to build stronger communities and create a better life. The special is a collaboration between the eight owned ABC stations and will air in ABC Owned Television Stations’ newscasts in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno.

Viewers tuning in to their local ABC newscast will see “extraordinary personal journeys of Black families and individuals across America rising above obstacles and pushing through systemic racism to achieve personal and professional success. These families and individuals will tell their stories in their voices.”

The docuseries follow the experiences of Black families across America including:

• The McKissacks, twin sisters and CEOs of McKissack & McKissack, the nation’s oldest Black-owned design and construction firm with offices in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. The award-winning business has been passed down five generations, starting with their ancestor Moses McKissack who was brought to the country as a slave by a contractor who used him as a builder. The McKissack projects are respected nationwide and include the John F. Kennedy Airport, the World Trade Center, the African American Museum, the Obama Library, the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, and many more.
• The Scott Family Farms, helmed by Will Scott, an 80-year-old fourth-generation farmer from Fresno, California. As a young boy, he worked alongside his grandfather and family as sharecroppers. Due to years of systemic racism, there are deep-rooted challenges Black farmers face; however, Will remains hopeful and is determined to keep the legacy of Black farmers alive and growing. For the first time, he sees more diversity and people recognizing that racism is a systemic problem.
• Mayor Michael Tubbs of Stockton, California. At age 30, he is not only the country’s youngest mayor representing a city with over 100,000 residents, he is Stockton’s first Black mayor. He is a Stanford University graduate raised by a single mother and has an incarcerated father. When his cousin was murdered, Tubbs returned to the city of Stockton to create positive change. He became one of the youngest city council members in the country at age 22 and in 2016 was elected as the 82nd mayor of Stockton.
• Antoine Lovell experienced homelessness while being raised in New York by a single mother. At one point they lived in train stations and his bedroom was the No. 3 train. The experience shaped his life. He is now a professor and doctoral candidate at Fordham University in the Bronx and Delaware State University, where he teaches social policy. His specialty is housing and homelessness, the core issues that impacted him as a young child.