By Nyesha Stone
Make sure to check out Black Nouveau and host Joanne Williams on PBS. (Photo Courtesy of Milwaukee PBS)
Milwaukee PBS’s Black Nouveau has been around for over 20 seasons, and it’s still going strong. Black Nouveau is a television show dedicated to telling the stories of the black culture in Milwaukee. Producers Everette Marshburn and Liddie Collins have been putting positive images of the black community on TV because if they don’t who will?
“Nobody else is telling our story,” said Collins.
Black Nouveau has been a weekly show for years, but now this year in October it will change into a monthly show. Marshburn and Collins are in the process of planning how the new monthly show will run, but as of right now, they’re playing re-runs, weekly.
It’s a magazine formatted TV show that was created by Collins and a partner. They wanted something new for the black community, which is where Nous “new “comes from.
Marshburn joined the team in September of 2006 when the show was in its 15th season. When his broadcast-journalism career began, he was using film. From his frequent visits to National Association of Black Journalist Conventions, he stayed connected with journalist from all over the world. Marshburn knew about Black Nouveau for years, and after being laid off from Maryland Public Television he applied for an open position at PBS.
Journalism has changed since these two have entered the game, but they’ve still managed to make a name for themselves. With Emmy awards under their built, Marshburn and Collins are prime examples of what the black community can produce.
Black Nouveau is not just for the black community, but for other cultures to enjoy the black culture.
“I hope they learn something they might not have known,” said Collins.
Every culture’s story should be told, and Black Nouveau is telling the unknown stories of a people whom often get misjudged. There are some white people in Wisconsin who have never seen a black person, and this TV show is meant to show them what the black culture is and how it’s not so different from theirs.
Marshburn and Collins are happy with their accomplishments and success in the journalism world because they are people of color in power. They believe it’s important to have people like them in power because they can give future black generations that green light to help them reach success as well.
Journalism has progressed over the years into a more noble industry, said Marshburn. Journalism was used as a tool for propaganda, but now it’s a way to inform the people of the many stories around the world.
Black Nouveau will always having something to cover because there’s always something going on in the community. They have to pick and choose which articles they want to air because of the variety of stories they come across.
Their TV show will continue to show tell the stories of black people, but they’ll have a smaller timeframe to do so. They hope to eventually get their weekly spot back because them want to keep their viewers consistently informed.
Marshburn and Collins will continue using their authority and telling the stories that matter to them.