Sold-Out Live Event October 18 at Westfield Insurance™ Studio Theatre Will Feature Storytelling and Performance
Oct. 13, 2016 (Cleveland) – NPR’s Michel Martin, weekend host of All Things Considered, will be at Westfield Insurance™ Studio Theatre at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18 to host Going There: Getting Real about Race as part of the national touring series NPR Presents Michel Martin: Going There. NPR and ideastream are collaborating on this unique live event to engage in an open and honest conversation about race that explores how race affects people’s lives today through the prism of specific issues in Northeast Ohio.
“This conversation is incredibly timely, not just for Ohio but for the country. Not too long ago people were saying that we’d reached a post-racial society; now I think most people would agree that racial tensions are real,” says Martin, “I am sure many people will also say these tensions are at a level they never expected to see in 2016, and all of this causes some people to feel anger and resentment, hurt and disillusionment, even despair. We want to talk about why that is, but also what, if anything, can be done to heal racial divides.”
The event will be streamed live and recorded for a featured segment on a weekend broadcast of All Things Considered. Martin will be joined onstage by former Ohio state senator Nina Turner;
Brad Whitehead, president of the Fund for Our Economic Future; Julia Shearson, executive director of the Cleveland Chapter of CAIR Ohio; Donna Walker-Brown, chair of the Inner-City Republican Movement; and Wesley Bright, CEO of Akron Honey Company. The panel will be followed by performances by Playwrights Local, performing scenes from the play Objectively/Reasonable and a musical performance by Wesley Bright & the Honeytones.
“We welcome this opportunity to partner with Michel and the NPR team to engage the Northeast Ohio community in such an important conversation. This is the type of event that fulfills our mission in a thought-provoking, dynamic and nourishing way,” said Maxie C. Jackson III, station manager, 90.3 WCPN ideastream.
The discussion will continue online and the public is invited to participate, using the hashtag #OwningRace and following @NPRMichel and @WCPN. Members of the audience and those who participate in our social media conversation will have the chance to address questions they’ve always wondered about, but have been afraid to ask or have not had the opportunity to ask. This will be that rare opportunity to ask questions and hear informed perspectives that could create the foundation for clarity and mutual understanding.
In collaboration with NPR Member stations, Michel Martin: Going There is part of NPR’s national events series. Martin connects people with different perspectives, histories and experiences. She encourages them to share ideas, hopes, frustrations and solutions in sometimes difficult, often poignant, but always engaging conversations. During its first season, Martin held Going There events in seven communities across the country, where she explored everything from the ethics of football, to education reform, to water and where we source our food. In addition to Cleveland this season, Martin is taking the studio to the story in Asheville, Madison and San Diego.
NPR Presents Michel Martin: Going There is made possible by Kresge Foundation, and by a collaboration between NPR and 90.3 WCPN ideastream®.
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NPR connects to audiences on the air, online, and in person. More than 26 million radio listeners tune in to NPR each week and more than 30 million unique visitors access NPR.org each month making NPR one of the most trusted sources of news and insights on life and the arts. NPR shares compelling stories, audio and photos with millions of social media users on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Snapchat; NPR News and NPR One apps, online streaming, podcasts, iTunes radio and connected car dashboards help meet audiences where they are. NPR's live events bring to the stage two-way conversations between NPR hosts and the audience in collaboration with the public radio Member Station community. This robust access to public service journalism makes NPR an indispensable resource in the media landscape.
ABOUT IDEASTREAM
90.3 WCPN ideastream® helps Northeast Ohioans connect with their world. Listeners count on 90.3 for a combination of locally produced reports on the important news events in Northeast Ohio and national and international news coverage and talk shows from trusted sources like NPR, Public Radio International, American Public Media and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, complemented by arts and cultural coverage and musical programs. The mission of ideastream is to strengthen our communities. ideastream pursues this mission as a multiple media public service organization by providing distinctive, thought-provoking programs and services that enlighten, inspire, educate and entertain.
Media Contacts:
NPR
Isabel Lara / 202.513.2304 / ilara@npr.org
IDEASTREAM
Marissa Norris / 216-916-6318 / marissa.norris@ideastream.org
EVENT SNAPSHOT
NPR Presents Michel Martin: Going There
Live event at Westfield Insurance™ Studio Theatre
Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. EDT
Tickets are sold out, but a limited supply is available for media
Visit npr.org/goingthere for details and a link to the event live stream