Portrayal & Perception: African American Men & Boys

Though statistics and attitudes may show a slight narrowing of America’s racial divide, recent highly-charged racial incidents tell another story. In the culmination of a three-year initiative, hosts Michael Bartley and Minette Seate talk with community and law enforcement leaders, and the generation of young men whose lives are most affected – examining accomplishments and objectives that remain.

Young African American men - as a whole - score below their counterparts when it comes to graduation rates, literacy rates and college preparedness. Sometimes a success story inspires other young people, and encourages community leaders to keep working for change. Discover teenagers excelling in school, volunteering as mentors and working hard to make a difference among their peers.

The next episode of Portrayal and Perception: African American Men and Boys, looks at men who have made a career in the fine arts. The program profiles a classical musician, painter, playwright, ballet dancer, poet and arts educator, and explores some of the obstacles and accomplishments of each in his chosen field.

This episode continues a series that reports on African American men and boys in positive and mentoring roles. "Journey to Medicine" follows middle school students, medical school students and seasoned professional physicians as they pursue careers in medicine.

This episode continues a series that reports on African American men and boys in positive and mentoring roles. “Media Men” focuses on communications careers. Featured profiles include Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Tony Norman, WQED/PCNC/KDKA Radio host Chris Moore, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review photographer Sidney Davis, and social media networker Alex Simmons.

Explore three different approaches on the road to success: a program for young entrepreneurs and one of its star pupils; the commitment of African American educators at Pittsburgh's Manchester K-8 school on the North Side; and the Black Male Leadership Development Institute, a seven-day leadership training collaboration between Robert Morris University and the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh.

In this episode, Michael Bartley shows how local African American entrepreneurs, often overlooked by commercial media, are not only experiencing financial success, they are inspiring future business leaders.