A+E Networks has launched Voices Magnified, a cross-platform campaign that will spotlight and amplify the voices of those making changes in their communities for the greater good.
The A+E Networks initiative will create specials and a series of short form videos that give a national spotlight to conversations on equality and social reform which are occurring across America today.
“We are proud to launch the Voices Magnified campaign to elevate the stories of those pursuing solutions to the critical issues of our time,” said Rob Sharenow, president, programming at A+E Networks. “Through long-form and short-form programming, PSAs, and partnerships, we are committed to using our platforms to shine a light on the diverse people and organizations who are bringing communities together, confronting challenges and inspiring change.”
The first programming special to originate under the banner is Voices Magnified: Policing in America, which premieres Sunday, August 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on A&E. Narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Laurence Fishburne, this one-hour special examines what it will take to transform the way we police our streets.
Assembling multiple perspectives including community leaders and activists, police, grieving families and victims of brutality, the aim is to understand why, amid a global health pandemic, Americans from across the socioeconomic and racial spectrum felt compelled to leave the safety of their homes and pour into the streets this spring to demand racial justice after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others.
People deeply invested on all sides seek to advance solutions, transforming the uprising into a real spark for systemic change. The special will also specifically examine the city and county of Los Angeles and track the unfolding story of how that city is working to address the historically troubled relationship between residents of color and law enforcement.
Voices Magnified: Policing in America is produced for A&E by executive producers Jeanmarie Condon and Fatima Curry from ABC News’ Lincoln Square Productions and executive producers Laurence Fishburne and Helen Sugland from Cinema Gypsy Productions. Fatima Curry serves as director. Brie Miranda Bryant and Sharon Scott serve as executive producers for A&E.
In addition to the special, A&E will support the initiative with short form content on air and online focused on the stories of individual people who are finding solutions to social justice issues, working to bring communities together, confronting difficult challenges and inspiring change.
As part of Voices Magnified, A&E will also be supporting non-profit organizations in their critical work in the fight for social justice. These include contributions to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund to support scholarships for law students seeking careers as public interest and civil rights attorneys, and to the George Perry Floyd, Jr. Scholarship for Racial and Social Justice at Santa Monica College, which provides two-year endowed scholarship awards to selected students of African descent.
In addition, the network is supporting the National Women’s Law Center in their efforts to use the law to change culture and drive solutions toward gender equity.
Voices Magnified is part of a commitment by A+E Networks to social justice initiatives and empowering diverse storytellers, from the Shining a Light campaign focusing on race in America in the aftermath of the massacre in Charleston, South Carolina, to Divided States, an in-depth documentary focusing on ending hate in America.
The Voices Magnified campaign includes on-going efforts across A+E Networks’ platforms, including Broader Focus on Lifetime and HISTORY’s Save Our History and More to History initiatives.
Broader Focus is Lifetime’s initiative to elevate the creative roles of women in front of and behind the camera. Save Our History is the network’s Emmy-Award winning historic preservation initiative. More To History is an on-air short-form series on HISTORY featuring diverse stories from our nation’s past.
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