Basic Black Receives Governors' Award From National Academy's New England Chapter

WGBH celebrated 50 years of it’s series “Basic Black at the WGBH Studios in Bright on May 11, 2018. It’s been 50 years since ‘Say Brother’ first aired, highlighting voices from within the black community during the civil rights movement. Since then, the show has broadened its scope to issues affecting other communities of color, and changed its name to Basic Black. But some things still remain the same. Host Callie Crossley was joined by a special panel of guests and a live studio audience to discuss the show’s history and where it will go from here. From left to right: Phillip Martin, WGBH News investigative reporter and frequent guest of the show, Sarah-Ann Shaw, legendary Boston reporter and a member of the original Say Brother team; Darren Duarte, former host of Say Brother and Kim McLarin, former host of Basic Black.

Coverage from the GBH Newsroom.

May 14, 2020

WGBH's Basic Black will be awarded the prestigitous 2020 Governors' Award by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Boston/New England Chapter.

“Basic Black has forged a long and important legacy exploring issues faced by communities of color, elevating critical matters that too often fall outside mainstream media,” said Jon Abbott, CEO and president of WGBH, in a statement. “We are proud of the impact the show continues to have and appreciate this well-deserved recognition by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.”

The show first went on the air in 1968 as Say, Brother during the height of the civil rights movement.

The award will be presented during a virtual ceremony in June.

Callie Crossley, who has hosted the program since 2008, said she is proud of the recognition for her team.

"An award like this reminds me how important the work is, and helps me recommit to the mission of exploring issues confronting communities of color in Greater Boson," she said.

Crossley also said that the strength of the show is its focus on issues affecting people of color with experts from those communities.

"The secret [to success] is not so secret," she said. "To engage in substantive dialogues about issues that impact communities of color with top experts of color. Report and examine the perspectives that are often not a part of the overall public dialogue.

"Basic Black has been out front in diving into certain hot topics pre COVID-19 politics," said Crossley, who noted the show has covered a wide range of topics including the student debt crisis for students of color, inequities in the recreational cannabis market, mental health and men of color, the Black Panther movie phenomenon and the "n" word.

Executive Producer Delores Edwards said that she felt honored to have their work recognized.

"All of us at Basic Black strive to present thought-provoking stories and issues about people of color — stories that impact lives, the ability to see thought leaders from the community, and address topics that our television broadcast and web audiences care about," Edwards said. "The fact that NATAS New England recognized the depth and breadth of the work we’ve produced over the years at Basic Black is a tremendous honor."

In addition to the Governors Award, WGBH received 14 other nominations from the association, including three for work on WGBH News' nightly TV news magazine Greater Boston.