TORONTO — Following up the Ending Racism: What Will it Take? special that aired across Rogers Sports and Media platforms in June, OMNI Television announced today it will debut new primetime specials in Italian and Punjabi to continue the discussion about systemic racism in Canada.
Complementing the original primetime special aired on June 11, the 30-minute follow-up episodes look to engage ethnic audiences by exploring race inequalities faced by Canada’s Black and Indigenous communities. The specials will air Friday, July 17 on OMNI Television and stream live on www.omnitv.ca, beginning with the Punjabi edition at 7:30 p.m. ET and followed later by the Italian broadcast at 9 p.m. ET.
The Punjabi episode will be hosted by Focus Punjabi’s Radhika Sharma and will examine how Canada’s South Asians are showing their support for Black Lives Matter, while also reflecting on ongoing racism and shadeism within the South Asian community. Sharma, along with the OMNI News: Punjabi Edition team of reporters, will explore such topics as inequality in local youth sports, and how South Asian parents can have healthy discussions on racism with their kids.
Viewers will also hear from community activists, business leaders and everyday Canadians on their personal experiences of systemic racism and ideas on how we can work towards meaningful change.
During the Italian episode, OMNI News: Italian Edition’s Onofrio Di Lernia will speak with a range of thought-leaders on systemic racism, white privilege and becoming an ally. Guests from Canada’s and Italy’s Black communities will also share personal experiences of discrimination.
Guests for the Italian broadcast include:
- Amin Nour — Actor, director and Black Lives Matter activist, who fled Somalia during its civil war and moved to Italy where he grew up.
- Chris Obehi — Musician and singer, who fled Nigeria in 2015, was imprisoned in Libya and then reached the Italian island of Lampedusa on a migrant boat across the Mediterranean Sea. He now lives in Palermo, Sicily and has just published the album Obehi.
- David Lametti — Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
- Diana Pesci — Vice-president, Neri Italiani-Black Italians (NIBI Association)
- Keshia Holloman-Dawson — President, University of Calgary Black Law Students’ Association
- Sabrina Idukpaye and Iyen Valentino Emwin — Both were born in Nigeria and raised in Italy. Idukpaye now lives in Toronto, and Valentino Emwin lives in Minneapolis.
Viewers will be able to watch encore episodes of these shows on OMNI Television in the coming days and weeks (check local listings).
For more information, please click here.
