OWN is adding to its lineup of Spotlight specials with a new two-hour episode titled Speak Sis focused on mental health and trauma impacting the Black community.
The special will be hosted by Oprah Winfrey; Emmy award-winning journalist Adrienne Bankert; and social impact strategist Jotaka Eaddy, the network announced in a press release Wednesday.
The episode is meant to destigmatize mental health issues, and the panel will discuss childhood trauma and unpack how it manifests in adulthood.
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Special guests during the Speak Sis special will include California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris; activist, scholar, and educator Dr. Dena Simmons; and actress and comedian Kym Whitley.
Also joining the conversation are Dr. Gail Wyatt, Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center; and Emmy award-winning creative visionary and mental health advocate Kelli Richardson Lawson.
Tips for healing from the trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic will also be offered.
The special is produced by Critical Content for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Jennifer Ryan serves as showrunner and executive producer along with Critical Content executive producers Jenny Daly, Tom Forman, and Jon Beyer. OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network executive producers are Tara Montgomery and Brian Piotrowicz.
Speak Sis is the first of four OWN Spotlight series episodes focused specifically on health issues and is made in partnership with OWN’s health initiative, OWN Your Health.
Speak Sis will air Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
