The Conversation on Race in America Is About to Take a New Turn | Sojourners

The Conversation on Race in America Is About to Take a New Turn

Screenshot from trailer for 'Shining a Light'/A+E

After the shooting that left nine members of Emanuel AME Church dead on June 17, an employee at A+E Networks asked, “Can’t we do something?”

Tonight, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Pharrell Williams, and many other musicians will provide an answer. In partnership with United Way and iHeartRadio, A + E Networks is hosting “Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America.”

This is more than just another benefit concert.

“This is going to invent a hybrid, a new form,” the famous producer and director Ken Ehrlich said.

That’s because, while there will be numerous iconic musicians performing and other celebrities speaking, “Shining a Light” will also highlight the voices of the people of Charleston, S.C., Baltimore, Md., and Ferguson, Mo. — three cities recently riven by racial strife.

“The concert will shine a light on these environments,” said Pharrell Williams in a phone call.

After the violent trauma that residents of these cities experienced, “Shining a Light” will, he continued, “allow people who are going through it to say what they need to say.”

“Shining a Light” will be broadcast across all six of A + E Networks’ channels in order to reach as wide and diverse an audience as possible. And reaching a broad audience is critical, because the whole goal of the event is not just to raise money (though that will be a component) — but to transform the way in which Americans talk about race.

The need for a change in the conversation was made especially evident in the recently-released American Values Survey that documented the way in which perceptions of injustice and discrimination vary widely across ethnic groups.

Today’s climate is as if “white, black, and brown Americans do not live in the same countries,” said Joy Reid of MSNBC, at an event for the release of the survey.

By featuring prominent musicians, organizers hope to penetrate the defenses people build in order to protect themselves from the painful conversations that talking about race in the U.S. necessarily entails. By attracting them with the beauty of the music, “Shining a Light” aims to make people think, and give them direction to work for racial justice in their own communities.

The concert is also meant to encourage and motivate people who are already on the front lines of the struggle, said Shawn Dove, CEO of Campaign for Black Male Achievement.

“There’s no cavalry coming to save the day in our communities,” Dove said.

“We are the iconic leaders we’ve been waiting for.”

Catch the concert tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on any A+E Networks’ channel (A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime, H2, LMN and FYI) or on one of the more than 130 iHeartRadio stations worldwide.