TELEVISION Nick show takes look at 'Legacy of Slavery'

Included in the show are dramatic readings of slaves' own words.
WASHINGTON POST
Linda Ellerbee was taping a show for Black History Month last year when the subject of slavery came up. A pupil on the show said, "I don't want to talk about it. It makes me uncomfortable."
So the host of "Nick News" tucked that idea away, thinking, "If kids don't want to talk about this, we should."
"Nick News With Linda Ellerbee: The Legacy of Slavery" airs at 8:30 tonight on Nickelodeon.
Initial research showed that talking about slavery evokes strong emotions -- anger, shame, resentment and sorrow -- in both black and white kids, she said.
Contacted author
She contacted Cornel West, a professor at Princeton University who wrote the best-selling "Race Matters" in 1993, "and he connected the dots of the legacies of slavery, such as chocolate cities and vanilla suburbs, that are emblematic of larger issues," she said.
West joins Ellerbee and several pupils from across the United States for a candid discussion on various aspects of slavery and its effects on American life today.
The program begins with a historical look at how slavery began in the New World and what life was like for the slaves, of whom almost half were younger than 16.
The special includes dramatic readings of the words of slaves, in what Ellerbee calls "kid-to-kid narratives."
There also is a segment about two modern-day teen-agers, one white and one black, who were friends as children but no longer spend time together, citing race as the reason.
"It's amazing how often it happens," Ellerbee said. "There's a self-segregation right around puberty."
History of show
"Nick News" began as a weekly television newsmagazine in 1991, produced, written and hosted by Ellerbee, a broadcast journalist who has worked for several networks as a correspondent, anchor and producer, including a stint in Washington for NBC News from 1974-78.
The first "Nick News" program was about the first Persian Gulf War, she said, and the intent has been to explain the news to children in age-appropriate terms, relieve anxiety and listen to what they have to say.
"This is a show for kids, not about kids," she said. "One of the reasons I do this show is because I was one of the kids in the '50s who had to hide under my desk [during air-raid drills]. Even at age 10 I knew that wooden desk wouldn't do much good. But nobody was talking to me about the issues. I was just left there with my fears and schoolyard rumors."
Another personal reason the show is important to her, she said, is that she remembers watching TV news with her family in Texas and seeing water cannons and dogs being used against black people.
"I remember looking at it and thinking that it was awful -- and it was the first time I had a thought totally different from what my family believed. Without TV, that realization might have taken much longer."