"Father's Promise": "7 Up" for Black History Month
Here's another one of those MSNBC in-house longform productions that I discussed with the network's VP of longform, Michael Rubin, a few weeks back. It's a sort of "12-Up" that updates the lives of three kids whose births NBC documented -- along with their fathers' promises to guide their upbringing -- a dozen years ago. Afterwards, a panel including "Today" show mainstay Al Roker and "Rachel Maddow Show" favorite Cory Booker discuss the role of men in the lives of African-American kids.
MSNBC PREMIERES "A FATHER'S PROMISE" SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8 AT 8 PM ET
HOSTED BY NBC'S AL ROKER AND INCLUDES ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION FEATURING NBC'S TIKI BARBER, NEWARK MAYOR CORY BOOKER AND REV. EUGENE RIVERS
New York- January 26, 2009-Today, more American boys and girls than ever are growing up without a father. It is a cultural issue that has emerged at the forefront of American politics. Even President Obama made it a highly charged national issue in his campaign. Standing before one of Chicago's largest black church congregations last Father's Day, Obama questioned whether absent fathers bore responsibility for some of the problems afflicting African Americans today.
"A Father's Promise" is an attempt to understand this unsettling crisis. Coinciding with Black History Month, MSNBC will premiere "A Father's Promise" Sunday February 8th at 8 pm ET. Reported by Al Roker, this thought-provoking documentary examines why so many fathers fall out of their children's lives, particularly in the inner city.
Twelve years ago, NBC News produced an award-winning documentary that began with the delivery of several babies all born the same week at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersery - one of the nation's poorest cities and a place where the rate of absentee fathers was especially high. That week, Marquis, Tianna, and Heru's fathers all made solemn promises to be there for their children. Now, more than a decade later, MSNBC catches up with these children to find out what happened to them and to see if their fathers honored their pledges. What they find is both heartbreaking and revealing. Did Marquise's father begin a relationship with his son? Did Tianna's father stick around for her every milestone? Would Heru's father fight his depression and be there for his son?
Also in "A Father's Promise," a cross-section of African-Americans, including NBC's Al Roker and Tiki Barber, come together for a round-table discussion of the situations and issues presented in the documentary. The other round-table participants are Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey; Rev. Eugene Rivers, a Boston pastor and MSNBC analyst; Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Princeton university professor of politics and African American studies; and Marni McKoy, Heru's Principal at Link Community School in Newark.
Michael Rubin is vice president, long-form programming, MSNBC and executive producer, "A Father's Promise." Scott Hooker is senior executive producer, documentary production and development, MSNBC. Geraldine Moriba-Meadows and Elise Warner are senior producers, "A Father's Promise." John Block and Cameo George are producers, "A Father's Promise."
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