YOU
YOU MAY
YOU MAY HAVE SEEN OUR GROUNDBREAKING SERIES FACING
RACE OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS.
IT CONFRONTED ISSUES OF RACISM
AND INJUSTICE IN THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST AHEAD ON STARTING
TOMORROW WE ARE LAUNCHING
FACING RACE AS A REGULAR PART
OF OUR NEWS COVERAGE KING5.
CHRISTINE AYRES IS THE
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND JOINS US
LIVE TONIGHT.
KRISTEN, WHAT KINDS OF STORIES
CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO?
WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT
ALL SORTS OF STORIES AND WE'RE
LAUNCHING OFFICIALLY TOMORROW
JOYCE ARE FACING RACE UNIT IS
REALLY GOING TO BE DIFFERENT
FROM ANYTHING YOU'VE LIKELY
SEEN ON TELEVISION IN THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND THAT'S
BECAUSE KING5 IS ONE OF ONLY A
HANDFUL OF STATIONS ACROSS THE
ENTIRE COUNTRY THAT HAS A TEAM
THAT'S THE CIVICALLY DEDICATED
TO COVERING ISSUES OF RACE,
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND INEQUITY.
WE'LL BE HAVING SOME DIFFICULT
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACISM AND
IN THE INTEREST OF STANDING FOR
TRUTH, WE DECIDED TO START OUT
TOMORROW BY TAKING A LOOK AT
OURSELVES WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A
NEWS ORGANIZATION TAKES A STEP
BACK AND STARTS TALKING ABOUT
RACE?
WHAT ARE THE MESSAGES THAT YOU
RECEIVED ABOUT RACE?
WE'RE TAKING YOU INSIDE THE
CONVERSATIONS WE HAD AT KING5
OMITTED NATIONWIDE RACIAL
RECKONING THE WOUNDS THAT WERE
EXPOSED.
I FACED A LOT OF DISCRIMINATION
GROWING UP AS A KID AND I THINK
THE SORRY THE MESSAGE TO ME
ROSKELLEY PARENTS AND CULTURE
WAS THAT YOU DIDN'T SPEAK UP
AND THAT IF YOU SUFFERED YOU
WERE IN SOMEBODY ELSE'S
COUNTRY.
OUR NEW UNIT FACING RACE WILL
BREAK NEW GROUND TALKING TO
PEOPLE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
ABOUT THE TABOO.
I KNOW THAT THAT I'M RACIST AND
I DON'T WANT TO BE I DON'T MEAN
TO BE I DON'T KNOW FIVE IN MY
20 PLUS YEARS OF DOING THIS
WORK I'VE EVER HEARD A WHITE
PERSON SAY THOSE WORDS EXACTLY.
ASKING TOUGH QUESTIONS.
DO YOU THINK YOUR FATHER IS
RACIST?
YEAH.
RACIST? YEAH. RECONCILING THE PAST WITH THE
PRESENT STARTING WITH OUR
STATE'S NAMESAKE WASHIGNTON WAS
A GREAT LEADER AND HE WAS STILL
A SLAVE OWNER.
WHY DO WE CONTINUE TO IDOLIZE
PEOPLE IN GENERAL?
IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO
NAME WHOLE STATES, OFFER THEM A
NAME UNIVERSITIES OFFER THEM
ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY HAVE SUCH
A MORALLY CORRUPT SYSTEM
GETTING REAL ABOUT RACE.
WE'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH AND
WE'RE NOT PUSHING HARD ENOUGH
AND UNCOVERING NEW WAYS TO MOVE
FORWARD.
I KNOW I'M GOING TO BE
CHALLENGED BUT I KNOW I'M
PROBABLY GOING TO GET ANGRY.
WE'RE GOING TO BE IN IT AND THE
COMMITMENT IS TO BE IN IT AS
LONG AS WE HAVE AIR IN OUR
BREATH.
SO CHRIS RDAND WE GOT FEEDBACK
FROM PEOPLE ALL ACROSS THE
STATE ABOUT OUR FACING RACE
SERIES.
SOME PEOPLE TOLD US THEY
LEARNED FROM OTHERS SAID BY
ADDRESSING RACE THAT WE WERE
BEING DIVISIVE.
YEAH, I WOULD SAY THAT I
UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE FEEDBACK
THAT WE'VE GOT FROM PEOPLE WHO
ARE JUST UNCOMFORTABLE TALKING
ABOUT THESE KINDS OF THINGS.
THE REALITY IS THAT THE NEWS
ORGANIZATION THAT WE HAVE
POVERTY ISSUES OF OUR TIME FROM
A FACT BASED STANDPOINT AND
THERE IS A LOT OF VERY WELL
DOCUMENTED DATA OUT THERE ABOUT
THE EXISTENCE OF SYSTEMIC
RACISM ACROSS THE BOARD,
WHETHER IT'S IN HEALTH CARE,
ENVIRONMENT, EDUCATION,
POLICING THAT'S THE REALITY AND
THOSE THINGS EXIST AND WE'VE
MADE A COMMITMENT OUTPACING
RACE TO COVER THOSE THINGS FROM
EVERY POSSIBLE ANGLE JUST LIKE
WE WOULD ANY OTHER ISSUE.
JOYCE, YOUR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
OF THIS SEGMENT AND WE'RE
LOOKING FORWARD TO TOMORROW'S
STORY AS WELL.
YOU GUYS WORKING ON WE HAVE A
NUMBER OF STORIES THAT WE'RE
WORKING ON.
YOU SAW A GLIMPSE OF A COUPLE
OF STORIES THERE.
SINGLES WILL BE REPORTING ON
THE STORY LOOKING AT KING5 BUT
ALONG WITH THAT WE'LL ALSO BE
LOOKING TAKING A LOOK NEXT WEEK
AT GEORGE WASHINGTON, HIS
LEGACY AS A SLAVE OWNER.
WHO WAS HE ACTUALLY AS A SLAVE
OWNER?
WE'LL BE LOOKING AHEAD AND
CONTINUING TO TALK TO A MAN WHO
ADMITTED ON OUR AIRWAVES THAT
HE'S RACIST AND HE WANTS TO
CHANGE AND LOOKING AT HOW HE'LL
HEAL A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS
BIRACIAL DAUGHTER.
SO THOSE ARE JUST A COUPLE
OF THINGS WE HAVE COMING UP.
BUT WE'RE HOPING PEOPLE WILL
GET IN TOUCH WITH US AND LET US
KNOW WHEN THEY HAVE STORIES