How Black Public Media Is Fighting Back After Federal Spending Cuts

When Congress approved a Trump administration plan to rescind $9 billion in federal funding for public media, it did more than kneecap PBS, NPR and local public media stations. Black Public Media (BPM) also lost half its budget.

Since 1979, the nonprofit behind AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange, children’s podcast Keyshawn Solves it and a slew of independent films has spent more than $17 million supporting the work of Black storytellers.

And it refuses to be quieted without a fight. Aiming to offset those budget shortfalls, BPM recently launched the Black Stories Production Fund, which seeks to raise $9 million over the next two years. Its goal is to reach 1.8 million big and small donors in its first year. The fund is soliciting donations from large corporations all the way down to individual donors who can only afford to give $5.

BPM plays a vital and unmatched role in the media landscape. It offers Black storytellers support and opportunities they may not receive elsewhere. Fields-Cruz is determined to preserve that independent storytelling lens.

“There are stories that Black Public Media took a chance on, stories that were critical of our society, but also stories that were uplifting and engaging, stories that provided or looked at history from different perspectives, not just one perspective, so that we could have a much more rounded understanding of of the history of this country and of this world,” she says.

Byron Hurt, an acclaimed independent film director whose projects have received financial support from BPM, agrees.

“BPM is a very important Black institution when it comes to media, and I want to see them continue to grow. I want to see them continue to survive. I want them to weather this particular storm. I want them to receive the resources that they need to continue to support filmmakers like myself and other filmmakers,” he says. “They’re an incredible institution.”

Diversifying Black Public Media’s Funding

Fields-Cruz notes that public media funding has been in jeopardy since the 1990s, when it became part of the culture wars. She knew funding probably would be cut in the future when President Donald Trump took office, since he had threatened the action on the campaign trail. But she and others in the industry did not expect the rescission, which pulled back already-approved funds.

“I didn’t think it was going to hit us right now,” says Fields-Cruz.

Still, she was ready to act. In fact, she’d dealt with funding concerns before at BPM.

When Fields-Cruz became executive director in 2014, 99% of BPM’s support came from CPB. “I had worked at other nonprofits, and I just knew that relying so heavily on one source wasn’t healthy,” she says.

By the time BPM lost its federal funding, it had diversified its funding sources—CPB accounted for about half its funding. “I just wanted to have a diverse portfolio in case anything happened,” Fields-Cruz says. “You know, no organization should ever rely solely on one funder, whether it’s federal or private. But I’m glad that I had that vision then because it’s what is keeping us here now.”

The recission has forced some hard decisions. BPM has made cuts to its programming slate, but Fields-Cruz expects eight projects to be completed over the next year and either enter the festival circuit or play on public media stations.

Black Public Media Amplifies Black Stories

She knows many of those filmmakers, and others that BPM has supported over the years, shopped their films to other funders and commercial media without traction. She is proud of the fact that BPM gives those projects a different experience thanks to its focus on the Black experience.

“They are just so many incredible storytellers who come through Black Public Media seeking their support to help get their stories told,” says Hurt.

Fields-Cruz is determined that will continue.

“The history of Black people in this country, it’s not an easy history. Our experience hasn’t always been an easy experience, but there’s a lot of joy, there’s a lot of celebration, and there’s a lot to learn from our experiences, from the past and in the present,” says Fields-Cruz. “ As our country lives through this moment and as we grapple with free speech and the understanding of our democracy, all of those stories should be heard. And public media has been that place where you can find it.”

If efforts like the Black Stories Production Fund succeed, then Black Public Media will continue to be that place.