McLarin on GBH’s “Basic Black” Program and Its Influence: Boston Globe

Kim McLarin, Professor & Interim Dean of Graduate & Professional Studies, discussed the significance of GBH’s “Basic Black” TV program, suspended last week in conjunction with two other shows on the PBS-member station. McLarin hosted “Basic Black” for a year.

The longest-running program on public television dedicated to the interests of people of color, it began running in 1968. GBH intends to reboot the program in a digital format.

 [The show] put Boston on the map and improved Boston’s image to the world and to Black America.

I’m glad it will exist in some form, but it’s part of the further fracturing of American society and how we connect and what narratives we hear.

I want [media outlets] to take seriously their role as important parts of our democracy and their role in building better citizens and serving the public good. Profits should not be the primary motivator.