SLO activist Tianna Arata to appear on ABC’s ‘Soul of a Nation’
San Luis Obispo Black Lives Matter organizer Tianna Arata will be featured in this week’s episode of “Soul of a Nation” on ABC, her attorney said Monday.
Arata — who is being prosecuted by the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office for her involvement in a July 21 protest that blocked traffic on Highway 101 — will appear on the second of six episodes of the documentary series that seeks to explore the Black experience in America.
The episode is scheduled to air at 10 p.m. Tuesday on ABC and can be watched online via the network’s website or Hulu the following day.
One of Arata’s attorneys, Patrick Fisher, said Monday that Arata was interviewed the weekend of Feb. 27.
Fisher said the interview does not go into detail about her ongoing case but includes her perspective on the current racial justice movement and her reasons for getting involved.
He said she will appear on the series alongside Black Lives Matter Foundation co-founder Patrisse Cullors, who spoke at a rally in support of Arata outside the San Luis Obispo Superior Courthouse in August.
Tianna Arata has appeared on national TV before
This will not be the first time Arata has appeared on national television since being charged by San Luis Obispo County law enforcement.
In August, after the San Luis Obispo Police Department announced it was recommending the District Attorney file felony charges against her, Arata was interviewed by ABC News Live Prime host Byron Pitts about the criminal case against her, saying “there’s a narrative being pushed” about an event that was actually “joyous” and “peaceful.”
News of Arata’s arrest went viral in the days following the interview, with San Luis Obispo featuring prominently in coverage by Newsweek, Teen Vogue, Hip Hop Wired and MadameNoire, and a trending #FREETIANNA hashtag on Twitter.
Arata was ultimately charged with 13 misdemeanors, including false imprisonment and blocking a public thoroughfare, and is one of eight people facing criminal charges over the July protest.
She has pleaded not guilty, and local proceedings are stalled while the District Attorney’s Office appeals a judge’s decision to disqualify the agency from prosecuting the case due to a conflict that arose from elected District Attorney Dan Dow’s political fundraising.
ABC show ‘Soul of a Nation’ explores Black life
According to ABC, the “Soul of a Nation” series “aims to put Black life in America front and center,” and “will present viewers with a unique window into authentic realities of Black life and dive deeper into this critical moment of racial reckoning.”
Each episode explores a specific theme, including spirituality, activism in sports, and the racial reckoning that followed George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis.
Episodes also feature interviews and reporting by ABC News anchors and correspondents with athletes, entertainers, performers, and screenwriters, including Carmelo Anthony, Nick Cannon, Deon Cole, Kim Coles, Tommy Davidson, Danny Glover and David Alan Grier.
“Soul of a Nation” premiered March 2 and airs at 10 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC.
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 1:39 PM.
