Celebrating the History of the NMCA

From the Margins to the Blueprint: Building the Future of Public Media Around Filmmakers of Color

Part 1: Celebrating the History of the NMCA

Public media has always been shaped by the communities it serves, and no voices have been more essential to that story than communities of color. 

For over 40 years, the National Multicultural Alliance has funded and distributed groundbreaking work from Asian American, Black, Native American, Pacific Islander, and Latino communities. Hear how the NMCA broke barriers – from shows like Matters of Race to Roots of Comedy – and how decades of collaboration laid the groundwork for diversity in public media.

Featuring Luis Ortiz (Managing Director, Latino Public Broadcasting), Denise Greene (Director of Programs, Black Public Media), Keoni Kailimai (Director of Programs, Pacific Islanders in Communications), and Don Young (Executive Director, Center for Asian American Media) in conversation with Thuy Tran (Cultural Strategist).

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This is part of a three-part keynote discussion that takes an honest look at the state of public media: where we’ve been, where we are now, and where we’re headed – all while centering the communities at the heart of this work.