APM Reports and The Washington Post Partner on New Podcast, Historically Black

Podcast will curate stories about African- American history with special guest hosts Keegan Michael-Key, Roxane Gay, Issa Rae, Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton

September 16, 2016--- The Washington Post and APM Reports today release an audio teaser of Historically Black, a new podcast series launching on Monday, September 19. Based on The Post’s Historically Black Tumblr project, a user-generated “people’s museum” of objects representing black history, the podcast will showcase some of the project’s most compelling and powerful objects vividly discussed through interviews, archival radio and music curated by APM Reports and The Post in eight short episodes hosted by four celebrities.Celebrity guest hosts will include actor and comedian Keegan Michael-Key; feminist writer and professor Roxane Gay; creator of “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” web series Issa Rae; and Another Round podcast hosts Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton who will host two episodes each. The Post will feature the podcast as part of its multi-platform coverage of the opening of the Smithsonian Museum of African-American History and Culture. APM Reports will oversee the podcast production and distribution.“Oral storytelling is an important part of our African-American culture and partnering with The Washington Post to give audio to their social project made perfect sense” says Jonathan Blakley, interim director of APM On Demand. “Through combining forces, we will be able to add more depth and share more widely these important stories and histories that have contributed to our collective knowledge.”Entries submitted to the Historically Black Tumblr page were considered for inclusion for the podcast. People are still encouraged to continue submitting to the Tumblr page, however they will not be considered for podcast episodes. Previously submitted objects include a photo Duchess Harris discovered of her grandmother working for NASA (then NACA) as a “computer” in the 1940s; the photo of the Million Man March that hung in Kamille Washington’s den during her childhood; a copy of Michelle Lee’s great -great grandfather’s poll tax exemption document, and more.“As part of The Post’s coverage of the Smithsonian’s new African American museum, we wanted to find an interesting and totally unique way to engage our readers locally and across the country,” said Jessica Stahl, editor for search, social and communities at The Washington Post. “Launching the Historically Black Tumblr was a great success—people were submitting their most personal objects and stories—so in partnership with APM Reports listeners will now be able to hear the voices behind these intimate stories. We are excited to share the future episodes.”About the HostsAs an actor, writer, and creator, Keegan-Michael Key has become one of the most creative and in-demand faces in Hollywood. With his extraordinarily diverse skill set and wide-ranging talent in both comedy and drama, Key redefines what it means to be a chameleon and multi-hyphenate in the worlds of film, television, and theater.Key is the co-creator and co-star of Comedy Central’s “Key & Peele” with Jordan Peele. The show has become a TV and viral sensation, with 12 total Emmy® nominations and over 700 million online hits. In 2016, the show was recognized with seven nominations and Key was once again nominated in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. The show won a 2014 Peabody Award and an American Comedy Award for “Best Alternative Comedy Series.” Even though, the show concluded its five season run in September 2015, Key and Peele still collaborate together. They are currently developing “Substitute Teacher” and collaborating on Police Academy in which they will star and producer.Key can currently be seen in Mike Birbiglia's critically acclaimed “Don't Think Twice”. He returns to the voice-over animated world this September, with “Storks”. This December, Key stars in “Why Him?”, in which he stars alongside James Franco, Bryan Cranston, Zoey Deutch, and Megan Mullally.Roxane Gay’s writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, the New York Times bestselling Bad Feminist, and Difficult Women and Hunger forthcoming in 2017. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel.With her own unique flare and infectious sense of humor, Issa Rae's content has garnered over 23 million views and 200,000 YouTube subscribers (and counting). In addition to making Glamour Magazine's "35 Under 35", Forbes' "30 Under 30" and Entertainment Weekly's "Breaking Big" lists, Issa's hit series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl was the recipient of the coveted Shorty Award for Best Web Show. Issa's first book, a collection of short stories, is a New York Times Best Seller and her latest project, Insecure, a half-hour comedy show for HBO, premieres Fall 2016.  Issa has received national attention with major media outlets including The New York Times, CNN, ELLE, Seventeen, Rolling Stone,BuzzFeed, Fast Company, MSNBC, Essence, Fader, Variety and more.Tracy Clayton is a writer, humorist, and co-host of the nationally recognized podcast Another Round which has had guests such as Lin-Manuel Miranda and Hillary Clinton. She is also the 2016-2017 Ida B. Wells Media Expert-in-Residence for the Anna Julia Cooper Center at Wake Forest University.Heben Nigatu is a writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and co-host of the nationally recognized podcast Another Round. Heben is a member of Forbes' 30 under 30 2016 class.About APM Reports APM Reports, formed in November 2015, is a collection of investigative journalists and documentary producers, editors, researchers and digital producers dedicated to producing high quality reporting on issues that are often hidden from public view.About The Washington PostThe Washington Post is an award-winning news leader whose mission is to connect, inform, and enlighten local, national and global readers with trustworthy reporting, in-depth analysis and engaging opinions. It combines world-class journalism with the latest technology and tools so readers can interact with The Post anytime, anywhere.

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