In Black America

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Motown Gospel recording artist Paul Porter about growing up in Detroit, the "accidental" discovery of his talent and putting God first.  

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks to Jeff Ballou. Ballou is the National Press Club president and the news editor for Al-Jazeera's English-language channel. 

He spoke about his experience as journalist of color and the importance of attracting and retaining diverse voices in media. 

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. presents a tribute to the late George T. "Mickey" Leland, a former congressman from the 18th Congressional District of Houston.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Dr. Charles S. Corprew, III, Ph.D., founder and president of WYRevolution Consulting. Corprew, who has studied the issue of hypermasculinity, tells Hanson that African-American men have a responsibility to give back to younger men and that mentoring is key to more successful outcomes.  

One of the most profound events in Michigan's history is the Detroit riot of 1967. I was 16 years old on that day in July. My brother and I were on our way to visit our cousins three blocks from where the riot began.

Detroit, like many urban areas in the 1960s, was a place of racial tension and social unrest. The African-American community had trouble finding jobs and housing, and faced harassment from Detroit’s police force, which was 95 percent white.

On this week’s program, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Margot Lee Shetterly, author of Hidden Figures: The American Dream And The Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Help Win the Space Race.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Angela Shelf Medearis, the founder and president of Diva Productions and an award-winning author of children's books and cookbooks. 

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Dr. Foyekemi Ikyaator, an emergency room physician and medical director of Life Savers Emergency Room in Houston.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Moses Shepherd, founder and CEO of ACE Petroleum, a Detroit-based national fuel supplier.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. concludes his conversation with Joyce F.  King, broadcaster, columnist and author of Exonerated: A Brief and Dangerous Freedom.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Joyce F.  King, broadcaster, columnist, and author of ‘Exonerated: A Brief and Dangerous Freedom.’

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Merri Dee, legendary television and radio personality, and author of Life Lessons on Faith, Forgiveness & Grace.

As a trailblazer in both radio and television, Dee has served as a newscaster, talk-show host and staff announcer. Later she served as director of community relations at WGN-TV and as adviser to other Tribune-owned TV stations.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with the Honorable Michael Tubbs mayor of Stockton, CA.

During the 20th century, Stockton was a commercial hub between Sacramento and San Francisco. It had military installations and was regularly used as a Hollywood set. But when Tubbs grew up there in the 1990's, gunshots whizzed in the streets and more than half of the city’s high schoolers dropped out before graduation.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Strauss Moore Shiple, project director with the South Carolina’s Olde English District; and Dr. Louis Venters, professor of African America and American history at Francis Marion University.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Ann M. Williams, the founder and artistic adviser of Dallas Black Dance Theatre, and Zenetta S. Drew, its executive director.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. concludes his conversation with Isaac Newton Farris, Jr., former CEO at the King Center, grandson of Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. and nephew of Dr. King Jr.

In this new foreword to the book, King, Sr.’s grandson Isaac Newton Farris, Jr. shares what "Daddy King" meant to him as a family member, and discusses the far-reaching legacy of King, Sr.’s activism for civil rights and racial justice. 

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Isaac Newton Farris Jr., former CEO at the King Center, grandson of the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. and nephew of Dr. King Jr.

In this new foreword to the book, Farris shares what Daddy King meant to him as a family member and discusses the far-reaching legacy of King Sr.’s activism for civil rights and racial justice. 

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. presents highlights of the 12th annual Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Salute to Excellence Awards held during Super Bowl XL week.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. presents highlights of the 12th annual Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Salute to Excellence Awards held during Super Bowl XL week.