CBS NEWS LAUNCHES “UNIFYING AMERICA,” A NEW MULTI-PLATFORM SERIES THAT SHOWCASES THE BEST OF OUR COUNTRY AS PEOPLE COME TOGETHER DURING DIVIDED TIMES 

CBS News will launch “Unifying America,” a new multi-platform series exploring the best of what Americans are doing to make their communities a better place at a time when the country is experiencing deep divisions. Beginning tomorrow, Jan. 16, “Unifying America” will tell the stories of people who are trying to unite communities, cross partisan lines and discover ways to connect with their neighbors despite their differences – whether they be ideological, cultural, political or religious beliefs. 

The “Unifying America” reports will be presented on all CBS News broadcasts and platforms, including CBS THIS MORNING, the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH NORAH O’DONNELL, CBS THIS MORNING: SATURDAY, CBS SUNDAY MORNING and FACE THE NATION. Additional content will be featured on CBS News Digital platforms including CBSN, CBS News' 24/7 streaming news service, in addition to CBS News Radio, Newspath and CBS News Village at CBSNews.com.

“America is more divided than ever. Our politics are split down the middle. The global pandemic has intensified inequalities. Injustice invades every part of our lives: racial, economic, criminal and environmental,” said Kimberly Godwin, executive vice president of news for CBS News. “It doesn't have to be that way. Communities are trying to find common ground and rebuild destroyed bridges – all while speaking truth to power. This series will shine a light on the ways people across the country are coming together as one to find common ground and change our world in a positive way.” 

As the series will show, Americans are doing their part to bring us together in ways large and small. These are stories of Americans who take on the hard work of honestly recognizing and accepting their differences, and then going on to work and live together. Some of these initiatives may fail – but the efforts of courageous and proactive Americans will force citizens to think about who are as a nation and who we want to be. “Unifying America” will feature the Network’s expert storytellers from around the country sharing these impactful stories with a national audience.

The ongoing “Unifying America” series will include:

• CBS THIS MORNING: SATURDAY tomorrow, Jan. 16 will examine the Wilmington riot and coup of 1898, an event unknown to most Americans. Michelle Miller will speak with Pulitzer Prize-winner David Zucchino who authored a new book on the rare instance of a violent overthrow of an elected government in the United States and discuss the devastating fallout that followed the insurrection. Dana Jacobson will report on the website The Dodo, which aims to bring people together over their love of animals and animal advocacy.

• FACE THE NATION and moderator Margaret Brennan will continue her conversations with newsmakers and leaders across the country in an effort to identify the root causes of our division and explore steps that can be taken to unify the country. On Sunday, Jan. 17, FACE THE NATION will talk with Gov. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) and Melvin Carter, the mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, about the problems they are facing as a result of voters upset with the results of the election, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. FACE THE NATION will also explore startling new findings from a new CBS News poll about what Americans think the biggest threat to the country is now.

• CBS THIS MORNING co-host Anthony Mason on Monday, Jan. 18 will have the first broadcast look at the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. The museum is a celebration of the contributions that African Americans have made to every genre of music, as well as an important history lesson. Mason will provide a virtual tour of the museum and interview H.E.R. and Darius Rucker.

• Beginning next week, the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH NORAH O’DONNELL will feature a report from Nikki Battiste on the “Museum of the Courageous,” which seeks to inspire people to stand up to hate. As part of the “Unifying America” series, the broadcast will also look at a community’s grassroots effort to acknowledge and heal after a horrific lynching. The broadcast will report on Americans of different races and ethnicities getting together to talk face-to-face about their differences in hopes of breaking through and creating more understanding. The CBS EVENING NEWS will also speak with police officers who created a podcast featuring youth who are trying to build better relationships between police and the community.

• The CBS NEWS POLLING UNIT will begin a special, continuing focus on views that Americans share in common and take a closer look at how Americans see each other, because democracy depends on people understanding one another even in those times they disagree.

• CBS NEWS RADIO is delivering to stations “Unifying America,” a three-hour program hosted by CBS News political analyst Jamal Simmons with James Brown, CBS News special correspondent and host of THE NFL TODAY. The special will feature Brown exploring the significance of the “Knock at Midnight” sermon by Martin Luther King Jr. The special will include Rev. Jim Wallis, founder and ambassador of the social justice organization Sojourners, speaking with Bishop Michael Curry, head of the Episcopal Church, about the legacy of King's beloved community. It also features an interview with Dr. Clayborne Carson, director of the MLK Institute at Stanford University, which was recorded in real-time as the insurrectionists were storming the Capitol; an interview with Grammy award-winning composer Christian McBride about his composition “The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons;” and Mike Wallace’s exclusive 60 MINUTES interview with Coretta Scott King and the King family just months after the famed civil rights leader was assassinated.  CBS News Radio will also feature weekly stories on “Unifying America,” as part of the ongoing series focused on race and culture titled “Kaleidoscope: Unifying America.” “Kaleidoscope” is a continuing segment for the CBS WEEKEND ROUNDUP and is hosted by Allison Keyes.

• CBS NEWSPATH, the Network’s 24-hour television newsgathering service for CBS stations and broadcasters around the world, will offer stations “Unifying America” reports and digital assets beginning Monday, Jan. 18. Naomi Ruchim will speak with a 5-year-old Indianapolis girl behind a diversity book drive, which aims to teach fellow kindergarteners the ABC’s of activism. On Jan. 27,  Holocaust Remembrance Day, Danya Bacchus will talk with the executive director of the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum about lessons from hateful rhetoric following riot on the U.S. Capitol. And for Black History Month, Bacchus will speak with a former MLB player now flexing his artistic muscle to help children of color see themselves represented. “Unifying America” will also be a recurring theme in Newspath offers next month, including Michael George with a look at communities coming together to save businesses, Natalie Brand with the Braver Angels organization’s efforts to bridge the political divide and Chris Martinez with California teenagers selling “conscious cookies.” “Unifying America” segments produced by CBS affiliates will be available on Newspathnow.com.

#   #   #

Press Contact: Lance Frank frankl@cbsnews.com