By Mark Welch
Murray, KY – MacArthur "genius" Fellow Majora Carter hosts a new five-part series, The Promised Land which airs on WKMS Thursdays at noon starting Thursday, October 21, continuing through Thursday, November 18. Carter introduces today's visionaries, trailblazers who are effecting change - close to home and far afield.
Carter herself is a visionary, having founded the non-profit Sustainable South Bronx, to advance the environmental and economic rebirth of her hometown. She is one of Essence magazine's "25 most influential African-Americans" and one of Newsweek's "25 to watch."
In the five hour-long segments of the series, The Promised Land explores the work of:
* Nalini Nadkarni of Washington state whose pioneering research on the forest canopy relates to the maintenance of biodiversity, stability of world climate, and sustainability of forests.
* Frank and Audrey Peterman of Atlanta who started the program "Keeping It Wild" aimed at encouraging black Americans to visit the nation's parks and other public lands that they help pay for with their tax dollars.
* Brenda Palms Barber of Chicago who started Sweet Beginnings (and its honey factory), a transitional jobs program for formerly incarcerated individuals and others with significant barriers to employment.
* John Francis of Cape May, NJ whose Planetwalk foundation consults on sustainable development and works with educational groups to teach kids about the environment.
and
* Winona LaDuke, an Ojibwe activist, who founded White Earth Land Recovery Project, a nonprofit dedicated to recovering land for the Ojibwe people.
For more information about Murray State's public radio service including 91.3 WKMS, Murray; WKMS HD-1 and All-Classical HD-2; 90.9 WKMD, Madisonville; 89.5 WKMT, Fulton; 99.5 Paris, TN; and All-Classical 92.5 Paducah and 101.5 Madisonville, call 800-599-4737.