I’m a member of a loose group of black conservatives called Project 21. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was looking for an assistant (I can’t remember the title of the position) in the history programming department. I’d written a number of history-related op-eds, so someone at Project 21 passed along my name. I was contacted by a consultant working for PBS in New York City, and he was in D.C. doing interviews for the position. He was a liberal and very intrigued that I was a conservative. But he was nice!
We met in a coffee shop for an informal interview, then walked a few blocks to the PBS office in D.C. for another informal interview with the hiring decision-maker. Along with my resume, I brought copies of two history-related op-eds published in major newspapers.
The second interviewer was also nice but clearly wasn’t going to hire an outspoken black conservative Christian. I knew this going in, so I felt free to be honest. I never relished the thought of working for public television, but I figured it was high time these people at least met someone like me. It wasn’t my intent to shock anyone, but that’s exactly what happened.
As I sat there talking, it dawned on me that we were spending more time discussing my views than the job or my qualifications. I wasn’t going to get the job, but I likened myself to a ground-breaking pioneer, opening the door for others who’d follow in my footsteps with a mission to bring balance and a different viewpoint to PBS.
Lofty, isn’t it? 
I talked about my writing and when I became a conservative. I told them how excited I was about the opportunity to join PBS, and what I lacked in television production experience I’d make up in enthusiasm and discipline. At some point in the interview a sensitive subject came up. I saw one of the men hesitate to speak. I said, “You don’t have to be politically correct with me. Just say what you need to say.” Nervous laughter. I loved it!
As the interview came to a close, I delivered my big speech. I looked the man doing the hiring right in the eyes and said that PBS, the recipient of taxpayer funds, had an obligation to hire people who represented a wide range of views. If they were truly interested in diversity, they would look beyond mere skin color to diversity of ideology (and a few other points I can’t recall). The room fell silent for several seconds. As far as I remember, there was a “Thank you for coming in,” or something like that. That’s the PBS Incident!
I’ll be honest. In my assessment, I didn’t get the job because I have no television experience, which was a major requirement. Still, even if I had the experience, they probably wouldn’t have hired me after that speech.
I felt really good walking out of there. I expected no telephone call from PBS, but it was great just having my say…
