Before Oprah and Arsenio, there was Mr. SOUL! From 1968 into 1973, the public television variety show SOUL! offered an unfiltered, uncompromising celebration of Black literature, poetry, music, and politics, capturing a critical moment in culture whose impact continues to resonate today.

Please join NMPBS and the Society of Professional Journalists Rio Grande Chapter for a screening and conversation with filmmaker Melissa Haizlip

From 1968 into 1973, the PBS variety show SOUL!, guided by enigmatic producer and host Ellis Haizlip, offered an unfiltered, uncompromising celebration of Black literature, poetry, music, and politics—voices that had few other options for national exposure and, as a result, found in the program a place to call home. The series was among the first to provide expanded images of African Americans on television, shifting the gaze from inner-city poverty and violence to the vibrancy of the Black Arts Movement. Through participants’ recollections and illuminating archival clips, Mr. SOUL! captures a critical moment in culture whose impact continues to resonate and celebrates an unsung hero whose voice we need now more than ever, to restore the soul of a nation.

Following the film join a panel discussion moderated by journalists Megan Kamerick and Jerry Redfern featuringp, filmmaker Melissa Haizlip, Khalil Ekulona host and producer of No More Normal on KUNM , Sean Cardinalli screenwriter, blogger, and agitator. and Pamelya Herndon President/CEO of KWH Law Center for Social Justice and Change.