ABC Owned Television Stations Announces Nine-Part Special ‘Our America: In the Black – Conversations With Arlan Hamilton’

A trailer for the first episode can be viewed **here**.

ABC Owned Television Stations’ thought-provoking “Our America: In The Black” series returns today, Thursday, June 20, with a nine-part special, “Our America: In The Black – Conversations With Arlan Hamilton.” Hosted by serial entrepreneur, investor and author Arlan Hamilton, the special continues the conversations surrounding financial health and wellness. The first episode is available now across ABC Owned Television Stations’ streaming and digital platforms as well as on ABC News Live.

Each episode in the series features an intimate discussion with influential guests from business, entertainment and technology. Together, they share personal stories and insights on achieving financial health and wellness, emphasizing the importance of financial education and the pursuit of financial freedom. Timed to resonate with the themes of freedom surrounding Juneteenth and July Fourth, this series addresses the pressing issue of the lack of financial freedom in America. With 78% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck and many lacking sufficient savings, Arlan Hamilton – who transformed her life from homelessness to raising over $30 million for startups through Backstage Capital – leads conversations that aim to inspire and empower viewers.

In the first episode, “Rachel Rodgers,” Hamilton sits down with her longtime friend and fellow entrepreneur, Rachel Rodgers. Rodgers, who founded the multimillion-dollar company, Hello Seven, which teaches diverse entrepreneurs how to earn more money and build wealth, talks about getting into the right mindset to be entrepreneurial and the importance of bridging the wealth gap.

Additional episodes in the series will be available over the summer and will spotlight the following interviews:

Episode 2:
“Lauren Chan” – For the second episode in the series, Hamilton sits down with Lauren Chan, a size-inclusion activist who created the plus-sized luxury fashion company, Henning. Chan, who is a former Sports Illustrated model and who identifies as plus-sized, AAPI, and LGBTQ+, talks about the importance of diverse representation in fashion and positions of power.

Episode 3:
“Holly Levow” – Hamilton is joined by fellow businesswoman Holly Levow, who runs two production companies, Equitas Entertainment Partners and Catalyst Studios. Levow, whose focus is on providing opportunities, investment and support for women and nonbinary talent, speaks on the importance of uplifting female voices in a way that is beneficial to everyone.

Episode 4:
“Dean Forbes” – Hamilton speaks with CEO Dean Forbes, who heads billion-dollar software company Forterro and is the chairman of the social mobility foundation Forbes Family Group. During their conversation, Forbes speaks about his struggles climbing the economic ladder and about his effort to elevate disadvantaged people through his position of power.

Episode 5:
“Suneera Madhani” – Hamilton sits with fellow businesswoman Suneera Madhani, who serves as the CEO of billion-dollar fintech company Stax Payments and the co-creator of fintech startup Worth AI. Madhani discusses her groundbreaking tech inventions that have the power to change business transactions and her desire to disrupt norms by hiring a diverse team.

Episode 6:
“Teri Ijeoma” – Hamilton sits with CEO Teri Ijeoma, who created the acclaimed online course, Trade and Travel. Ijeoma, who has a decade of successful, million-dollar-making stock trading experiences, speaks about her journey from teacher to businesswoman and provides advice for the next generation of traders.

Episode 7:
“Crystal Alonzo” – Hamilton speaks to actress Crystal Alonzo about her career as a comedian that propelled her family out of poverty. Alonzo explains how her success, which reached a pinnacle when she became the first Latina to create and star in her eponymous sitcom, “Cristela,” was attributed to her community and her familial relationships.

Episode 8:
“Bridgid Coulter Cheadle” – Hamilton sits down with small business owner Bridgid Coulter Cheadle, the founder of Blackbird – a workspace for women of color and their allies. During their chat, Cheadle discusses the power of physical spaces in connecting a community and the importance of uplifting marginalized people.

Episode 9:
“Lamar and Ronnie Tyler” – Hamilton sits down with married couple and business collaborators Lamar and Ronnie, who co-founded Traffic Sales & Profit, a business designed to elevate Black entrepreneurs into financial success. In the conversation, Lamar and Ronnie emphasize the importance of bringing Black people into a place of financial success and advise Black businesspeople to focus on cultivating their strengths.

“Our America: In The Black – Conversations With Arlan Hamilton” is executive produced by Nzinga Blake, executive producer, Race & Culture, ABC Owned Television Stations. The first installment of “Our America: In the Black” debuted in February and featured Microsoft Philanthropies specialist Darrell Booker talking about how technology can help bridge generational wealth gaps.

The Our America series is available on the 24/7 streaming platforms, 32 connected TV apps across streaming platforms Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV andRoku.

About ABC Owned Television Stations
Disney Entertainment Television’s eight owned ABC stations are multiplatform leaders in local news and information. Collectively No. 1 across all U.S. television households, the eight stations are comprised of WABC-TV New York, KABC-TV Los Angeles, WLS-TV Chicago, WPVI-TV Philadelphia, KTRK-TV Houston, KGO-TV San Francisco, WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham and KFSN-TV Fresno. With WABC-NY, they produce the No. 1 syndicated daytime series in the country, “Live with Kelly and Mark,” and with KABC- LA, we produce the leading syndicated entertainment brand ABC “On the Red Carpet.”

The stations also deliver locally sourced storytelling to millions of viewers via its streaming channels that feature 24/7 local news coverage, breaking news, weather forecasts, exclusive premium content and feel-good stories from ABC’s award-winning “Localish.” The ABC Owned Television Stations ended 2023 with the most streaming minutes among its competitors and have continued to lead into 2024. They are also the leading local station group on social media reaching more than 34 million people across platforms, including 4 stations that have reached Gold Creator Status on YouTube.

More information about ABC Owned Television Stations streaming channels can be found here: ABC7/WABC-TV New York, ABC7/KABC-TV Los Angeles, ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago, 6ABC/WPVI-TV Philadelphia, ABC7/KGO-TV San Francisco, ABC13/KTRK-TV Houston, ABC11/WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham and ABC30/KFSN-TV Fresno.

Media Contacts:
Fonda Berosini
fonda.berosini@abc.com

Leslie Schwartz
leslie.schwartz.-ND@disney.com