A+E Networks Channels to Air ‘Race in America’ Concert

NEW YORK: A+E Networks has announced a partnership with iHeartMedia for a special concert event in November meant to confront issues of race in the U.S. and promote social unity and progress.

Tentatively titled Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America, the two-hour simulcast has been slated for November 20 at 8 p.m. Featured artists include Jamie Foxx, John Legend, Pink, Ed Sheeran, Sia, Bruce Springsteen, Pharrell Williams and more. The special event will air across the entire A+E Networks portfolio, including A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime, H2, LMN and FYI, as well as on iHeartMedia broadcast radio stations nationwide and the iHeartRadio digital platform.

Immediately after the concert, A&E Network will air the one-hour special Shining a Light: Conversations on Race in America (working title) featuring artists engaging a diverse group of residents in local communities at the center of the national conversation on racial inequality and violence, including Charleston, Baltimore, Chicago and Ferguson. The concert and special are meant to kick off A+E Networks’ campaign to confront issues of race in response to the Mother Emanuel church shootings in Charleston over the summer.

“As a global media company, A+E Networks has the privilege of being invited into the homes of millions of Americans every day and believe that it is our responsibility to use this incredible platform to inform as well as entertain,” said Nancy Dubuc, the president and CEO of A+E Networks. “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.”

“We’re delighted to play a role with these amazing and committed artists to support such an important event for the benefit of our communities across America,” said Rich Bressler, the president, COO and CFO of iHeartMedia.

“The current racial situation in America is at a critical point,” said executive producer Ken Ehrlich. “Today’s musical artists, much like those of the civil rights movement’s history, have strong feelings about what’s going on today, and we’re hopeful that Shining a Light does, in fact, give a voice to their concerns, their hopes and their thinking about solutions to the alarming events that we see around us every day.”