Obamas in YouTube black culture special

Barack and Michelle Obama take part in YouTube’s Black Renaissance

YouTube has commissioned a black culture special featuring Barack and Michelle Obama for its YouTube Originals channel, titled Black Renaissance.

The special, which premieres on February 4, aims to show how black culture has defined America. As well as the Obamas it will include author Jason Reynolds and artist Shantell Martin.

Short pieces from young filmmakers will feature in the film, which was created in association with Alvin Alley American Dance Theater, Howard University Graduate Film Program and NAL Media.

The film’s executive producers are Reynolds, Leah Harper Lane and Guy Carrington and the co-exec producers are Kirsten Wong, Dave Schilling and Clover Hope.

In related news, YouTube Originals has announced a new episode of literature show BookTube with Alicia Garza, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network. This follows YouTube’s slate of projects dedicated to amplifying black voices, announced last October.