'American Injustice: The Fight for Police Reform': Release date, plot and all you need to know about the BET special
George Floyd's death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, who knelt on his neck for over eight minutes, sparked a national outcry against police brutality. Millions of protesters across the US and around the world swarmed the streets calling for an end to racial injustice and demanding justice for Floyd, as well as others from the Black community who died subject to racially biased policing. Despite the movement gaining momentum, the proposed police reform legislation has stalled on Capitol Hill. Now, an exclusive BET special titled 'American Injustice: The Fight for Police Reform' is shedding light on the legacy of systemic racism, police brutality and the lack of meaningful police reform to protect people of color. Here is everything you need to know about the special.
Release date
'American Injustice: The Fight for Police Reform,' airs Wednesday, July 22 at 11 pm ET/PT on BET and BET HER.
Plot
BET notes that an estimated 1,000 people are killed by police in America annually. Black people are three times more likely to be killed than their White counterparts. 'American Injustice: The Fight for Police Reform' is a news special featuring interviews with key politicians, law enforcement officials, and activists to address significant moments from the George Floyd protests and the fight for police reform. They will also discuss how demonstrators and supporters of the movement can galvanize the protest into progress. The main talking points of the special will focus on the status of police reform legislation on Capitol Hill including the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the Defund the Police movement, the power of police unions, the use of chokehold and no-knock warrants and the fight over qualified immunity.
The guest speakers that will appear on the special include Nancy Pelosi, US House of Representatives Speaker; Congresswoman Karen Bass, CBC Chair; Congressman Cedric Richmond; Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley; Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General; Patrisse Cullors, Black Lives Matter Co-founder; Jeff Pegues, CBS News Chief Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent; J Scott Thomson, Former Camden Police Chief; RaShall M Brackney, Charlottesville, Virginia Police Chief; and Derrick Johnson, NAACP CEO, and President. The special is a part of BET's 'Content for Change', a media-focused initiative that helps address issues of racial injustice and inequities in America, including economic empowerment, education, health, and civic participation. 'American Injustice: The Fight for Police Reform" will be the first program produced from the initiative.
Host
Soledad O’Brien
O'Brien is an award-winning broadcast journalist and has been the host of 'Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien' since 2016, produced by Hearst Television. She started her career in journalism as a medical reporter on WXKS-FM in Boston, because of her background as a pre-med college student. She joined NBC based in New York as a field producer for 'Nightly News' and 'Weekend Today' in 1991. O'Brien then anchored MSNBCS's weekend morning show and the cable network's technology program 'The Site' from 1996 to 1997. She moved to CNN and was the co-anchor on 'American Morning' from 2003 to 2007. In 2004, she was named Crain's New York Business, '40 Under 40' list.
Trailer
'American Injustice: The Fight for Police Reform' is a live news special.
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