IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING!
RIOT: From Rebellion to Redemption will go out to PBS stations throughout the country in February 2026. After way too many years in the making, the film will see the people from NETA (The National Educational Telecommunications Association) distribute the film to over 370 stations all over the US and its territories. Some of the first scheduled showings in the NY/NJ area can be seen below. If you’re outside the area, don’t worry - there are close to a thousand broadcasts already scheduled in February alone. Check your local listings or search for the WORLD Channel. You can also stream the film any time HERE.
We’re now on a quest to spread the word about the film far and wide. Director Kevin McLaughlin recently appeared on the Famous Interviews Podcast with Joe Dimino. They talked about Riot and some of Kevin’ other upcoming work. Check it out here.
News & Screenings
At the end of 2023, the Riot team got some great news and some terrible news. The National Educational Television Association (NETA) has accepted the film for distribution to 370 public television stations across the US. Just days after this news was announced, we learned of the passing of our narrator, Andre Braugher. Andre was a great asset to the project, providing not only his incredible voice and prodigious talent, but his perspective on how to best explain racial conflicts. He will be sorely missed.
While many of us view the events of 1967 as a great lesson, current events show us that painful and violent conflict will still erupt in various places around our country when people fail to see eye to eye. With that in mind, RIOT has been updated to include commentary on the rioting that has occurred in many American cities in the past year. While the Newark riots are now nearly 60 years in the past, the story behind them is as relevant today as it ever was. Minneapolis is once again on the verge of riots in 2026, and we can only hope that they will learn some lessons from the events on Newark.
Some comments from people who have seen the film:
“I hope this film can be used by America to figure out what we’re not doing right, so that this does not have to happen. And it’s happening right now, and shame on us that it is.”
”It’s an easy, logical unfolding of personalities, events, and consequences. When you’re creating art, the hardest thing to do is make it look like it all came together effortlessly, and this film pulls that off beautifully.”
”I never knew about any of this. My mission is to find this film and show it to my children. You changed my life today.”
”The overall depth, quantity and quality of the interviews is most impressive. Andre Braugher brings a strong, convincing voice and the music is very effective and moving at times. And while the film brings real hope at the conclusion, it’s a realistic, honest appraisal of where Newark stands today and where it must still gain.”
”The ability to preserve the integrity of multiple, diverse perspectives without bias or offense to any is brilliant! It was as though we were looking into the hearts and minds of people from all walks in Ferguson and Baltimore, where the exact same climate exists today. If you don’t believe the concept of “if we don’t know our history we are destined to repeat it” you NEED to see this film.”
”I knew about the Newark riots, but not the details - the incredible devastation. Seeing this film, I realized, people were completely taken away from their lives. You could feel the pain, the struggle. And then you could feel a certain kind of a turnaround: people not giving up in the end. That’s a key element: people who refused to die.”
