In celebration of Black History Month, theSkimm and Shondaland teamed up on a video series to address the history that continues to be made in our country every single day while simultaneously honoring past historical figures and moments and connecting the dots for our audiences.
Building on theSkimm’s previous partnership with Shondaland for the 2018 midterm elections, we developed a series in celebration of Black History Month by tapping into Shondaland’s talent network and implementing theSkimm’s production techniques.
Told through the creative lens of personal stories, episodes highlighted a variety of pivotal moments and important figures, both past and present. Michael Strahan and Chandra Wilson (Grey’s Anatomy) spoke about Colin Kaepernick taking a knee and the significance of silent protests. Jason George (Grey’s Anatomy; Station 19) reflected on the day Obama won the presidential election-- a moment he shared with his twins. Leslie Odom, Jr. (Hamilton) talked about Alvin Ailey, Tika Sumpter (Southside With You) spoke about diversity in Hollywood and Cynthia Erivo (Widows) & William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) talked about Oprah’s achievements.
The video series reached millions of people, with new episodes launching each week throughout the month of February. Content was distributed across Shondaland’s channels and across all of theSkimm’s channels, including its Daily Skimm audience of more than 7 million.
The partnership was featured by Essence following the launch and theSkimm saw positive and encouraging comments from users.
"Skimm đź’™. Thank you for recognizing the central role of blacks in U.S. history. This series was not only educational, but emotional to see how far we have come in less than 100 years. Thank You"
"This was so well done!! Alvin Ailey was and still is an inspiration to so many of us in the dance community."
"Seeing someone like Colin Kaepernick take a stand against a country that oppresses minorities and people of color is inspiring. He needed his voice to be heard, and he made an extremely loud statement by his silence and peacefully kneeling. So powerful."
