Press Release

April 29, 2020

Media relations

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ABC7/KGO-TV Addresses Impact on African American Community During Coronavirus Pandemic With a Virtual Town Hall Featuring a Panel of Expert Contributors and Real-Time Audience Interaction

‘Race & Coronavirus: A Bay Area Conversation’ Airs
Thursday, April 30 (4 P.M. PDT), Live on ABC7

Audience Members Are Invited to Interact With ABC7 News and a Team of Experts Via the ABC7 Bay Area Facebook Page

ABC7 News reports on the devastating impact African Americans are facing in the Bay Area and across the country.

Health experts say black Americans are being hit disproportionately hard by the novel coronavirus in major cities across the country, including the Bay Area. “Health disparities have always existed for the African American community, but here again with the crisis now – it’s shining a bright light on how unacceptable that is,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

To empower people with facts about coronavirus and to provide resources so viewers can take action, ABC7 News presents a one-hour virtual town hall hosted by ABC7 News anchors Ama Daetz and Jobina Fortson. ABC7 Mornings anchor Kumasi Aaron will take audience questions live on Facebook throughout the show.

Joined by both health and civil rights experts, ABC7’s panel of experts represents a diverse range of voices, from civil rights to education, community and culture, each of them working to help build a better Bay Area.

The panel will be LIVE during the town hall, answering questions and giving guidance on COVID-19 and how to best care for yourself and others during this pandemic. Panel members include the following:

  • Dr. Monica McLemore, RN, UCSF associate professor, Family Healthcare Nursing
  • Congresswoman Barbara Lee, California’s 13th District, Alameda County
  • Charles M. Collins, president & CEO of the YMCA of San Francisco
  • Eva Patterson, president & co-founder of Equal Justice Society, Oakland
  • Debra Gore-Mann, president & CEO of Greenlining Institute, Oakland
  • Pendarvis Harshaw, author, host of Rightnowish and columnist at KQED Arts, Oakland

Viewers are encouraged to submit their questions via comments on the ABC7 Bay Area Facebook and Instagram pages. Viewers can also stream the town hall on abc7news.com.

“Race & Coronavirus: A Bay Area Conversation” will air LIVE on ABC7/KGO-TV while viewers can simultaneously engage on Facebook. 

It will also be available live on abc7news.com, the ABC7 News app, the ABC7 News Bay Area YouTube channel and Apple News.

Questions from the public will be incorporated into the broadcast through a social media monitor in the studio, where ABC7 News hosts will be without a studio audience. The panel of experts will join the conversation live via a private Zoom conference.

Questions for the panel can be submitted now on facebook.com/abc7news.

Media Relations
Tom Cibrowski
ABC7 President and General Manager
tom.cibrowski@abc.com