Represent Justice Stands With Public Media - Statement by CEO Daniel Forkkio

Public media is a form of infrastructure that drives awareness, understanding, and education to nearly every household across America. Through television, radio, and other digital storytelling, we all use public media programming to access and express the ideas, views, creativity, and humanity of people worldwide. It’s not a source of ideology, it’s a source of connection - a bridge that helps the diverse truth of our experiences reach more people every day. We at Represent Justice stand in our unwavering support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the public media ecosystem, and our incredible partners at PBS. 

For me, this is deeply personal. As the child of a first-generation immigrant from Ghana, I sat in my grandmother’s living room and became exposed to new cultures and ways of thinking through programming on PBS. It’s how I became comfortable with the English language, with society, and how I made early meaning about who I wanted to be in the United States. It’s where I learned kindness and consideration for others.  An attack on these institutions is deeper than what any one budget item can reflect - it’s an attack on closeness, human connection, and the plurality that makes our communities so strong and hopeful. It’s what helped make me strong and hopeful.

In the movement for justice, PBS not only provides a platform for the underrepresented voices of those impacted by incarceration - it is also a crucial way in which incarcerated people across the country receive access to stories and programs that help make and maintain meaningful connections with the outside world and culture. It’s how we ensure that even in the most heartbreaking circumstances, there can be continued, authentic examination of the world we live in and how we must improve it.

Represent Justice is deeply proud to have been part of not one but three impact campaigns for PBS films over the past five years, including our current campaign for The Strike. Our work to engage audiences alongside the film team of The Strike to address the devastating impacts of solitary confinement and showcase the incredible organizing by incarcerated people is another example of how powerful stories can reach so many different people and inspire commitments. 

This is a profoundly troubling moment and one for action. Silencing the inner voice that public media provides is an attempt to silence the truth. We all have a role to play in making sure that institutions are protected, stories are shared, and the truth remains accessible, undeniable, and uninterrupted. Every church, college, university, and community gathering is an opportunity to connect and share the truth.

We are deeply grateful to our over 900 screening partners nationwide who regularly host the truth, invite impacted storytellers, and make deep commitments to changing the world we live in. To our Ambassadors and impacted storytellers, representing over 400 years of lived experience in the prison system, we are incredibly grateful for your courage in the face of fire. Your stories matter, and we are determined to uplift them. Together, we will continue to bridge the gap between audiences and fight for a fair system. 

Your voice matters. Join the conversation by signing the petition: