PowerPoint
Collection Summary
The PowerPoint special collection comprises nearly 200 episodes of the nation’s first live call-in program dedicated to issues of concern to African American listeners. The collection spans from 1997 through 2006, documenting an era of profound social and political change for Black Americans.
The program engaged listeners from different racial, religious, and cultural backgrounds at every stage of life. Notable episodes explored topics such as Black fatherhood and men’s health; motherhood, menopause, and heart disease among African American women; teen pregnancy and juvenile justice; and senior-focused discussions of Alzheimer’s disease and Medicare.
A hallmark of PowerPoint was its candid discussion of race. The series’ premiere episode answered then-President Bill Clinton’s call for an honest dialogue on race with a conversation featuring history professor Roger Wilkins and poet Nikki Giovanni. This commitment to addressing race and racism, both in the United States and globally, continued in future episodes. Each February, PowerPoint analyzed the National Urban League's annual State of Black America report, while other episodes confronted systemic racism in the form of racial profiling, police brutality, and the use of deadly force by law enforcement against people of color. PowerPoint also aired episodes on racial healing and racial reconciliation.
PowerPoint covered major political events of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, from the impeachment of Bill Clinton to the post-9/11 War on Terror. Many episodes reflected the program's international focus. For example, the “Ambassadors' Roundtable” subseries featured diplomats like Jordan’s Marwan Muasher discussing the Persian Gulf crisis and Sierra Leone’s John Leigh addressing human rights atrocities in his country.
The series often featured individuals working at the cross-section of art and activism, such as Dick Gregory, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Nina Simone. Other notable guests included civil rights theorist Lani Guinier, science fiction luminary Octavia E. Butler, and baseball legend Buck O’Neil. One of PowerPoint’s most memorable episodes featured a live interview with African American astronaut Michael P. Anderson from aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Public figures from across the political spectrum also appeared on PowerPoint, such as neurosurgeon and future Republican presidential candidate Dr. Benjamin Carson, prominent Black Republicans, and San Francisco Democratic Mayor Willie Brown.
Collection Background
PowerPoint was the first national call-in radio program to focus on issues affecting African Americans and the first African American news and information talk show to air on public radio nationwide. Created and produced by executive producer Reggie Hicks, the Atlanta-based show aired from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM on Sunday evenings for nearly a decade, reaching listeners in fifty media markets on NPR and Sirius satellite radio (now SiriusXM). PowerPoint empowered listeners to make their voices heard on a national stage. As the program’s tagline stated, “PowerPoint – you now have the power to make your point.”
Episodes of PowerPoint were contributed to the AAPB by the University of Maryland Libraries and preserved through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The PowerPoint special collection launched in February 2026.
