Four decades ago, the late Dr. Paul Vandergrift brought together other scholars and community leaders and dreamt up an idea: a public television show that would center Black voices and explore what was contributing to disparities in education, health, justice and the economy and the solutions. With support from PBS NC (then the Center for Public Television/UNC TV), Black Issues Forum launched with quarterly broadcasts and eventually went weekly. Valeria Lee was the program’s host from 1987 to 1996.
“The notion was, we can look at what’s going on and then envision what should be,” recalled Lee on the show’s 40th Season special. “I don’t know any other forum that’s lasted so long and been so responsive to the needs of North Carolina from a Black perspective.”
One of the show’s longest running staff members is Deborah Holt Noel, who hosted for many years and is now executive producer. She says former host and producer Jay Holloway instilled a strong sense of responsibility from her first days with the program.
“Jay simply emphasized how important it is that we have this platform, how unique it is, how we need to protect it,” said Holt Noel, who’s worked on the show for nearly 26 years.
This week we chat with Deborah and host Kenia Thompson about this milestone and continuing the legacy of Dr. Vandergrift, Valeria Lee, Jay Holloway and others who worked on the program. Our conversation has been edited for length.
Could you both share what it means to work on this show, and what this milestone means to you?
Kenia Thompson: It’s an honor. As a storyteller, we hold people’s most prized possession: their journeys, their stories, the things that they hold dear to them, the things sometimes they’re afraid to be vulnerable about. And in the Black community in particular, we haven’t always had a voice that was representative or respectful of the things that we go through. This platform allows that to happen.
Being part of this show and coming behind Deb, and reinforcing the mission and the legacy that was well before me, there are no other words to say but honored. Deb took a chance on me without even knowing me and I think we’ve built a beautiful relationship. And 40 seasons, I mean, it can’t happen without her, right? Which is why every step of this way, I want her to still be visible. Yes, there were hosts before her, but she held such a long reign in this journey of Black Issues Forum that it’s important that she gets her flowers for what this show has become, and what she’s allowed it to evolve into.
Deborah Holt Noel: When I think about the fact that I’ve been with this program for that number of years, it’s hard to kind of frame what I was trying to do, or what I thought I could do retrospectively, because as I’ve always been looking forward and trying to push it forward and keep it going.
I also have a personal interest and hold personal value to it, because I was raised in a family that valued and appreciated learning, education, and history. My father is a history buff. He educated himself on the history of Black people, on the history of African people. I grew up in a household that valued that, and tried to instill that in us. So to be able to work on a program like Black Issues Forum was continuing the culture that I’d grown up in, it also allowed me to continue to carry forth what I had already learned at home was important and valuable.
And maybe that’s why I feel such a strong sense of responsibility. Because I know Black history and I know the challenges that our people have faced. And a lot of things that would come up with Black Issues Forum, they resonated with me in a very personal way and a unique way, because I remember reading touches of this growing up, and now I was in a position to try to get other people excited about and interested in this content, as well as disseminate this information in, a responsible way, as a journalist, as a storyteller, an information bearer.
All of those things have worked together with me to create the affection and really sense of responsibility and loyalty I have to the program. I’ve always wanted to make it stronger. Every year, I’ve always thought to myself, what can I do to bring people to the Forum, to get people to connect with one another, even as guests. What can I do to impart knowledge, to help improve the quality of life of any viewer? Those questions have been the motivation for identifying topics, identifying guests, and pushing this program forward.
What have you both learned as hosts and producers with Black Issues Forum? How have you grown personally from these roles?
Kenia Thompson: My experience is a bit unique from other TV personalities. I left news 20 years ago with no hopes of really coming back into it, because it was that industry that once you leave, you’re kind of done. At that time, as a young, recent college graduate, I can now look back and say that I didn’t know myself, I didn’t know my voice, I wasn’t confident with all of who Kenia is and was at the time. I did know, though, over the 20 years that storytelling was at my core of what drives me in the work that I do. So I kept finding myself coming back to production and storytelling and doing it in different ways. This opportunity to host Black Issues Forum was scary, honestly, because I had not been on camera in that way, and the times that I did, it was just in my office, in my own created studio, and then long, long ago, when I was a different version of myself. So, I look back now at the first few episodes in cringe. it’s painful to watch.
Deborah Holt Noel: Me too! (Laughs)
Kenia Thompson: But it’s also beautiful to watch because there’s growth and an ownership of self. And I attribute it to this show. I’m finally understanding who Kenia is, and I think it’s been a beautiful journey to be able to watch not just talent develop, but inner love develop, right? Love for self, for our community, for people, and I think part of that identity crisis is what I’ll call it, is just being Black in America, honestly. And having a platform where we can be Black and loud and proud is just heartwarming. It’s comforting.
Deborah Holt Noel: For me, it’s been very enriching. Over these years, there are certain people who’ve come back into my life as guests of Black Issues Forum. I’ve met so many incredible people, and what I mean by incredible is they’re hardworking, they’re smart, they’re intelligent, they’re knowledgeable. But they don’t get seen, they don’t get the visibility. But with the Black Issues Forum platform, I have been able to help provide them some of that visibility. It’s so important for people to hear and see from real people right here in North Carolina, who are smart, who are struggling, who are not struggling, who are successful. It runs the gamut with African American people, because we’re people who have the range of experiences of anyone else.
Through hosting and through producing, I also, very importantly, have learned how to be more open-minded. I’ve learned about myself, like Kenia said, I’ve learned about my boundaries. I’ve learned how I can be very judgmental, and I have my own box that I think inside of. But over the years, I have made an effort and been successful, I believe, in opening that box, trying to view people through a more gracious lens. Appreciating where people are coming from, understanding their story and their perspective. And it’s made me a more accepting person.
Also just wanting to make sure that people, as they tell their stories, feel comfortable to tell their stories. I want them to know we want to know their story. They have to be made to feel comfortable, or else they’re not going to tell you anything. I can’t take a prescription or read a book about making somebody comfortable. It all comes from being authentic and sincerely listening to people, wanting to hear their story, and wanting to understand where they’re coming from. When I’m sincere about those things, then I can hopefully project that, in the content as well.
Could you share any conversations on Black Issues Forum that have just stayed with you or that you’ve heard were really impactful to people in the community?
Kenia Thompson: Two conversations come to mind that dealt with Black men, mental health and sexual assault. Our Black men unfortunately don’t have as many platforms as women have created for themselves, and then Black women have created for themselves. And after those two episodes, there were many Black men in my circle who said thank you. They finally felt seen. They felt like there was a space to be vulnerable. The men that we had on the show for those two episodes were amazing. And they created space for them, gave a voice to the pain. It reminds us that our Black men look strong. Many are very handsome. But there’s a lot of pain that lies underneath. And that pain is systemic. That pain is generational. That pain has been intentional. I’m grateful for the platform to provide that opportunity for them to have shared their stories and have that voice. It just reminds me that, everything’s not what we see, you know?
There’s a lot that lies underneath, and it’s just important to give, again, to give people a voice.
Deborah Holt Noel: That conversation really touched me as well. This question is tough for me because I’ve had lots of conversations over the last 25 years.
There’s a lot of really good work happening all around the state. So many people are trying to attack this big thing, which is the disparities, the racial disparities under these various categories. What Black Issues Forum does is it helps to convene these people, in addition to letting people who are viewers know: you’re not isolated, you’re not crazy, these are facts, this is what’s happening, here are the numbers behind it and here are some solutions. And then the people we interview get to connect, too. It’s like, “Oh, you’re doing that? I’m doing this aspect of it. Let’s talk again.”
As you reflect on 40 seasons, what are your hopes about the future of Black Issues Forum?
Deborah Holt Noel: I just hope we continue to produce content that matters to people, that helps them improve their quality of life, that they find valuable. That’s really always been my goal to create content that matters. And to do it better and better. I still feel like we have a ways to go. And that’s part of the reason I brought Kenya on. I’ve done my best. I think it’s fine to pass the torch, or share the torch. Because it’s not all up to me. And I am so appreciative of having a partner in this. And it’s not even all up to me in Kenya. We value feedback and input, but. We just want to be relevant.
Kenia Thompson: My hope is that we do our work so well that we no longer need a Black Issues Forum. And we move on to the next issue.
Find all the season 40 episodes of Black Issues Forum here, including episodes on immigration raids and community mobilization; the impacts of Medicaid cuts and rural hospital closures; the role of Black architects in shaping the built environment, and Black entrepreneurship in the wine industry. In February, PBS NC will host a celebration in honor of Black Issues Forum 40th season.
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