Whoopi Goldberg and digital media guru Larry Adams believed something was lacking even though the entertainment business had access to more streaming providers than ever before. BLKFam steps in at this point.
Adams founded BLKFam, a free, Black-owned, video-on-demand platform with an advertising model that debuted in February and provides Black Americans with family-friendly, animated educational content.
In addition to providing family-friendly content for that audience, Adams claimed that one of the reasons he founded the streaming service was to counteract unfavorable stereotypes about the Black community that are occasionally depicted in movies and television shows.
“Your perspective of the Black family experience is oppressed, whereas in actuality, many people have wonderful family experiences, and there are many variations on what that entails,” Adams said to sources.
Whoopi Goldberg, host of The View, was moved by the message and became involved as an equity partner prior to the debut.
Given that everyone is trying to steal history and our place in the hierarchy as humans, Goldberg expressed support for the idea of attempting to arm families of color with as much information as possible. “I want to make sure that the history of a people who contributed to the founding of this country can be taught to children.”
Apart from her experience in the industry, Goldberg also contributes her acting skills to the service. She has been in several BLKFam original productions and has assisted in selecting the forthcoming schedule of shows.
A few of the shows to look forward to in the coming months are Major!, an animated series that centers on Jalen Rivers, a young Black freshman who enrolls at the esteemed Olympia University to become a drum major; HBCU Homecoming, a mini-documentary series about the drumlines of black colleges and universities and the yearly homecoming tradition; and Breakers, a documentary that follows the rise of breakdancing from Harlem’s streets to the international stage.
READ MORE: Whoopi Goldberg Stops ‘The View’ To Scold An Audience Member For Recording The Show
Furthermore, next month marks the premiere of The Bookshelf, a reading program that features Goldberg and other celebrities reciting classic children’s books and significant Black literature. Just in time for the holidays, the cooking show Unqualified Hostess Holiday Special, which is based on Goldberg’s book The Unqualified Hostess, will premiere. Additionally, BLKFam will release its first original film, God With Us, which is a contemporary retelling of the nativity story, over the holidays of next year.
Furthermore, the platform doesn’t intend to take reaching children too seriously. For example, the plot of another program that premieres in 2025, Poof, stars Goldberg and centers on the family of a fart that moved to the lower city of Colon in search of a better life.
Goldberg added that in order to curate the collection, a close collaboration with Adams was necessary, as well as in-depth discussions regarding the kind of content that would best fit the platform’s goals. To illustrate the kind of history she wants to highlight in the program, Goldberg mentioned Dr. George Franklin Grant, a Black man who created the current golf tee at Harvard Dental School in 1899.
READ MORE: Blkfam, A Streaming Service Backed By Whoopi Goldberg, Has Launched, Targeting Black Families
Looking into who can come up with this fresh idea of getting civics in the hands of kids is something Goldberg expressed. “I want us to take the leadership role in bringing back conversations about civics and trying to do it in a way like they did when I was a kid with Schoolhouse Rock,” Goldberg stated.
Adams mentioned that there will be shows on the platform that focus on issues like mental health.
“We are establishing destinations for these discussions that take place around kitchen tables but aren’t being conveyed through the media,” Adams stated.
Word-of-mouth marketing is a component of the platform’s strategy, according to Adams, especially as the service grows and adds more content. The business is also focusing on future brand collaborations and building a secure environment where companies may interact with its consumers.
According to Adams, the platform is also creating content collaborations, bringing together lesser-known companies like The Africa Channel to showcase the African diaspora, and preparing the debut of an upcoming FAST (free streaming TV with ads) channel.
In the end, Adams and Goldberg underlined that the goal of BLKFam is to give Black children and their families access to stories that are not typically covered by the mainstream media.
According to Goldberg, “we have to take part in teaching people who we actually are—not who the media or social media says we are, but who we are.” “The people must see it in order to accomplish that.”
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