A+E Networks’ ‘Race in America’ Concert to Get Global Rollout

NEW YORK: A+E Networks’ Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America is set to roll out internationally on Lifetime and A&E Network from November 21 through December 15.

The concert, inspired by the response of the Mother Emanuel family members in Charleston, South Carolina, where nine people were killed by a gunman acting out of racial prejudice, will air across more than 135 territories. The concert kicks off A+E Networks’ worldwide campaign to confront issues of race and promote unity and progress on racial equity. The concert will be recorded at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on November 18. In the U.S., the two-hour special event will air across A+E Networks’ brand portfolio, including A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime, H2, LMN and FYI, as well as on iHeartMedia broadcast radio stations and the iHeartRadio digital platform. 

Artists such as Zac Brown Band, Eric Church, Jamie Foxx, Rhiannon Giddens, Tori Kelly, John Legend, Miguel, Pink, Jill Scott, Ed Sheeran, Sia, Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Pharrell Williams will perform. The concert will feature a series of duets focused on reconciliation and positive change across communities around the world. Additional performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

The concert and ancillary programming will help raise money for the Fund for Progress on Race in America, powered by United Way Worldwide, which will provide grant funding to individuals and organizations fostering understanding and eliminating bias. The fund will also provide support to Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church in South Carolina and the broader A.M.E. denomination. The fund will support efforts to address racism and bias through public policy change, individual innovation and community mobilization.

Nancy Dubuc, the president and CEO of A+E Networks, said: "As a global media company, A+E Networks has the privilege of being invited into the homes of millions of people around the world every day and believe that it is our responsibility to use this incredible platform to inform as well as entertain. By shining a light on the uncomfortable truth that racial inequity and bias still impact our society, we are looking to inspire people to go beyond short-lived, symbolic gestures."

Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America is produced by Ken Ehrlich Productions in conjunction with A+E Networks and iHeartMedia.