KQED Celebrates Black History Month in February

Jan 19, 2012

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More than 70 African American-related Television and Radio Programs to Air

Four local heroes to be honored in awards ceremony February 7; Ceremony broadcast February 25

KQED proudly celebrates African American culture and heritage during Black History Month this February. The month-long commemoration includes special programming and an event honoring four local heroes for their outstanding accomplishments and exemplary service within their communities.

For more than a decade, KQED and Union Bank have partnered each February to celebrate Black History Month by honoring community leaders with Local Hero Awards. The four new honorees were chosen based on their outstanding contributions to their local communities and the Bay Area community at large. The 2012 Black History Month honorees are: Frank O. Brown M.D. (The Hillcare Foundation for Health); Edna James (OMI Community Action Organization); Don Johnson (Los Paseos Lobsters); and Harlan L. Kelly Jr. (San Francisco Public Utilities Commission).

The special evening of recognition will be filmed and broadcast Saturday, February 25, at 6pm on KQED 9. The broadcast will be repeated multiple times over the course of the following week: on Sunday, February 26, at 11am on KQED Life, at 4pm on KQED Plus and at 7pm on KQED 9; Monday, February 27, at 1am on KQED 9 and 4pm on KQED Plus; and on Wednesday, February 29, at 9pm on KQED Life.

“Union Bank is honored to again partner with KQED to formally recognize the achievements of these local heroes in our community,” said Pierre Habis, senior executive vice president and head of Community Banking at Union Bank. “These individuals have made enormous contributions to their communities, and they exemplify our core values of diversity and community involvement. We are pleased to be a part of this celebration that highlights the honorees’ dedication and the tremendous efforts they make every day.”

“KQED is thrilled to join our long-term partner Union Bank as we celebrate the 2012 local heroes,” said John L. Boland, president of KQED. “These inspiring individuals exemplify a tireless commitment to the local African American community and to the Bay Area community at large. We are also pleased to introduce them to our viewers through the video profiles airing on KQED throughout Black History Month, as we also celebrate with programming that focuses on African American themes and culture.”

Also in celebration of Black History Month, KQED will offer more 70 programs that focus on African American themes and culture. Some of the month's highlights include:

KQED Public Radio
88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento, 88.3 FM in Santa Rosa, 88.1 FM in Martinez
Also available on Comcast digital cable channel 960 and live online at kqed.org

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — Assassination & Legacy
Thursday, February 2, at 8pm
This final program in a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) series about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. covers the reaction to his death and some thoughts about his legacy. It begins with a CBC news special from April 4, 1968.

Rubin Carter’s Hurricane
Saturday, February 18, at 1pm
Rubin “Hurricane” Carter is an African American former boxer who was wrongly convicted of a triple homicide – then exonerated after 19 years in prison in a ruling affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The judge who freed him (interviewed for this program) cited racial bias in the prosecution. In this story, based on Carter’s new memoir, Eye of the Hurricane, we hear how he transcended the “inner prison” of hatred, self-hatred and playing “the victim.”

KQED Public Television
All presentations are on KQED 9.

Slavery By Another Name
Monday, February 13, at 10pm
Slavery By Another Name reveals the interlocking forces that enabled “neoslavery” to persist from 1865 to 1945.

The Interrupters (Frontline)
Tuesday, February 14, at 10pm
Part of KQED’s acclaimed Frontline series, this program features a group of former gang members trying to “interrupt” shootings and protect their communities from the violence they once committed.

Everyday Sunshine (Truly CA: Our State, Our Stories)
Sunday, February 19, at 5:30pm
Laurence Fishburne narrates this entertaining documentary about the black punk band, Fishbone, comprised of fiercely individual artists who seek to reclaim their musical legacy while debunking the myths of young black men from urban America.

Sam Cooke: Crossing Over (American Masters)
Sunday, February 19, at 7pm
From KQED’s award-winning American Masters series, Cooke’s blend of gospel and pop altered the course of popular music and race relations in America.

Memphis (Great Performances)
Thursday, February 24, at 9pm
Winner of the 2010 Tony Award for Best New Musical, Memphis turns the radio dial back to the 1950s to tell the story of a white DJ whose love for music transcends race lines and airwaves.

Program listings and descriptions for February can be found in the KQED Black History Month Resource Guide, online at www.kqed.org/heritage.

ABOUT THE 2012 LOCAL HEROES:

Sponsored

Frank. O. Brown, M.D.
Dr. Brown established the HillCare Foundation in 1992. The Foundation was an active contributor to the California Healthy Start Program whose mission was to reduce the perinatal mortality of African American women in Alameda County by 50 percent in five years. Many of these protocols are still used today throughout the State.

Dr. Brown has also served as Medical Director of the Healthy Start Asha House Project; Chairman, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Providence Hospital; Medical and Laboratory Director at the BayCare Women’s Health Services; and Obstetrics and Gynecology Physician and Consultant at the East Oakland Health Center.

Dr. Brown currently serves as the Executive and Medical Director of ReGynesis Health Services, an organization that provides full-scope obstetrics and gynecological services, birth control, pregnancy prevention, health education and case management, with a particular focus on indigent minority clients, teen pregnancy, and jail and prison re-entry women.

Edna James

Edna James
Edna James is the President of the Commission on Aging and Adult Services and is a staunch advocate for senior and disabled services. James has been an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. for more than 50 years and joined the San Francisco Chapter in 1961.

In addition to her active sorority involvement, James served as President and later Far West Regional Director of Jack & Jill of America, San Francisco Chapter; President of the Bench and Bar Spouses of Northern California; Member, San Francisco African American Outreach Committee, American Diabetes Association; President, Ocean View-Merced Heights-Ingleside Community Action Organization; Chair, San Francisco African-American Senior and Disabled Partnership; Board Member Southeast Health Center of San Francisco; Co-Chair Health Committee, San Francisco African American Community Health Equity Council; Chair-Health Policy, Bay Area Black Nurses Association.

James was raised in Houston, Texas and received her Bachelor Science Nursing from Dillard University. She continued her education in San Francisco and earned a Master of Science Degree in Community Health Nursing from the University of California San Francisco, School of Nursing. Believing in the concept of lifelong learning, five years ago James continued her postgraduate studies and earned a Master’s Degree in Gerontology in 2006 at San Francisco State University.

Don Johnson
Don Johnson was the first African American tennis coach at Pratt Institute in New York. As Pratt’s Tennis Head Coach, Johnson successfully ran the National Junior Tennis League program on the Pratt campus providing free t-shirts, equipment, lunches and summer employment for teenage youth as recreation leaders. The individuals in this program not only had the chance to learn the game of tennis, but he taught them how to be leaders. Johnson was the first African American to win the Metropolitan Tennis Coaches Conference tournament in New York City.

Johnson moved to San Jose in the 1970s and set up a program for 500 Hispanic and Black low- income youth on the east side of San Jose in partnership with the City of San Jose. He went on to start his own programs in South San Jose: Los Paseos Lobsters Junior Tennis, Backesto Backhanders Junior Tennis and Bramhall Strings Junior Tennis. offering tennis lessons to low income families at a nominal fee. To keep his dream and program alive, he also offered free equipment, tennis clothing, t-shirts and tickets to tennis events provided by local country clubs, the City of San Jose, the USTA and other corporate sponsors and private individuals. His students are nationally ranked players and have gone on to achieve tennis scholarships at four-year universities.

Harlan L. Kelly Jr.
Harlan L. Kelly Jr. is the Assistant General Manager, Infrastructure of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), and the driving force behind an innovative youth program he co-founded, Project Pull, sponsored by the City and County of San Francisco through the SFPUC and the Department of Public Works (DPW).

Now in its 17th year, Project Pull provides full-time summer job opportunities to highly motivated, promising high school students from the diverse communities of San Francisco. The students are paired with San Francisco City employee mentors from various departments, with particular emphasis on exposing the students to potential careers in engineering, architecture, the sciences, business, law and public service.

Kelly has served for 28 years as a civil engineer. In his present capacity at the SFPUC, he oversees the implementation of capital programs for water, sewer and power, including the $4.6 billion rebuild of the Hetch Hetchy Water System. He was formerly the City Engineer of San Francisco. He has also held functional and project management positions at DPW, including Acting General Manager and Deputy Director of Engineering. He is a licensed professional engineer as well as a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. He resides in San Francisco with his wife Naomi and their two young sons.

About UnionBanCal Corporation & Union Bank, N.A.
Headquartered in San Francisco, UnionBanCal Corporation is a financial holding company with assets of $89.7 billion on December 31, 2011. Its primary subsidiary, Union Bank, N.A., is a full-service commercial bank providing an array of financial services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies and major corporations. The bank operated 414 branches in California, Washington, Oregon, Texas and New York, as well as two international offices, on December 31, 2011. UnionBanCal Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. Union Bank is a proud member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG, NYSE:MTU), one of the world’s largest financial organizations. Visit www.unionbank.com for more information.