Kansas City PBS & Nico Giles Media (6 STREETS, Land of Opportunity) have announced the premiere of a new documentary, Heart of the City, featuring Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, the city’s first all-Black high school. Recently in the national spotlight for a winning football program, Lincoln Prep is realizing a dramatic shift in demographics, becoming a majority white institution for the first time in its 150-year history at the same time that families of students could soon be priced out of their neighborhoods. Heart of the City will premiere Thursday, September 9, at 7 p.m. on Channel 19.1.
“Heart of the City is the story of a community, of a team and of a shared history of excellence and triumph,” said Kliff Kuehl, President & CEO of Kansas City PBS. “We are excited to bring the latest inspiring documentary from Nico Giles Media to our audiences this month.”
Lincoln Prep started last school year with the best football program in school history. While the team had its eyes set on a state championship, the city was facing its most violent year in decades and local alumni were at risk of being priced out of the neighborhood.
“On the surface, Heart of the City is a story about high school football, said Nico Giles, Founder/CEO of Nico Giles Media. “But as the story unfolds you realize that it is about preserving history, about recognizing injustice and about humanizing the pressure teenagers have to perform at a high level.”
As high school sports become a multi-billion dollar business, student-athletes from inner-city programs are being recruited to play at well-funded, private or suburban schools. Heart of the City is a story about kids who choose to stay in their neighborhood and play at their local school, achieving their dream in spite of those challenges.
For more, visit kansascitypbs.org/heartofthecity.