Future Black History Month: W. Kamau Bell, Comedian & Progressive Champion

Fuse is once again celebrating an extended Black History Month by looking at a variety of rising forces who are creating Future Black History before our eyes. Today we pay tribute to W. Kamau Bell, the 44-year-old self-described "socio-political comedian and dad" who hosts CNN's United Shades of America. The devotedly intersectional stand-up likens his docuseries to Anthony Bourdain's work, only exploring race and communities instead of food.

Shades debuted in 2016 with a striking episode featuring Bell spending time with multiple Ku Klux Klan members in different settings, including a cross burning. Subsequent episodes took him to East L.A.'s Latino community, spring break in Florida, a community policing program, Alaska and San Quentin Prison.

"I just have to hope there's a critical mass of people who are like, 'Huh. I like that,' or 'That made me feel a lot of things, and I'm gonna have conversations about that tomorrow when I go to work,'" Bell told Fuse just before the show's premiere. "That's the goal of anything, to get people talking."