When the producers at CNN began putting together its special “Black in America” series more than 18 months ago, Sen. Barack Obama was not yet considered a front-runner in the race for the Democratic nomination for president.

But as the first black presumptive party nominee prepares to face off in the November general election against Republican Sen. John McCain, the cable network will spend four hours over two days this week -- Wednesday and Thursday -- exploring for its audience what life is like for blacks in America. Anchored by Soledad O’Brien, "Black in America" is the second installation in the series that began in April with a look at the 40-year anniversary of the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

“The genesis had nothing to do with Barack Obama. When we began planning, he had already announced he was going to run, but no one gave him a chance of winning,” Jeffrey Reid, executive producer for the series, told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “It makes our documentary more timely. When he accepts the Democratic nomination, it will be 45 years to the date of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech."

For those who have questions and do not follow the issues, CNN's "Black in America" special this week will expose them to information they may not know, said Eric Deggans, a television and media critic at The St. Petersburg Times who has previewed the upcoming presentations, told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “Those who care about these issues and follow them will see a good recitation of what they already know."

Yanick Rice Lamb, a Howard University journalism professor, echoed Deggans stance, maintaining that the series can help viewers answer questions they have about blacks in America. “A lot of people are talking about Michelle and Barack and their family,” she told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “I think there are questions about the status of blacks.”

When so much of prime-time television is devoted to programming from a white male perspective, Deggans said CNN’s investment of time and resources for "Black in America" is significant. Still, he said, he hoped there would have been more discussion on solutions.

Reid said he hopes the series will give blacks and whites in America a prompt for a dialogue on race.

“Race has been a divisive issue since the beginning,” Reid said. “If you take a look at 2008, it is still a very divisive issue. Black and white. It is hard to sit down and discuss race. If nothing else, we hope it creates dialogue for serious change in this country.”

Wednesday’s piece, “Black in America: The Black Woman and Family,” looks at reasons behind the increasing numbers of single parents and disparities in education and health while also celebrating some successes for women in the workplace and in universities.

Thursday’s installation, “Black in America: The Black Man,” visits with the men in the Central High School class of 1968 in Little Rock, Arkansas. It launches a discussion on education, careers, inequity and other topics through the eyes of men from the historic high school, along with their sons and grandsons.

O’Brien presents black success stories in her talks with music entrepreneur Russell Simmons, entertainer Whoopi Goldberg and filmmaker Spike Lee. They also discuss black images and portrayals in media and other subjects.

The documentary places a face on familiar statistics, including the fact that nearly one-third of black men will have a criminal record during their lifetime.  O’Brien and Georgetown Professor Michael Eric Dyson visit Dyson’s brother, Everett, in prison, where he is serving a life sentence for murder, and discuss how two brothers could have followed such different paths.

For Reid, the subject that really hit home was the data on single family households. A black man who has been married 21 years, Reid said he grew up in two-parent household, as did 75 percent of American blacks in the 60s.

“Today, 75 percent of black children are born to single parents," he told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Statistics show that that when children are reared by one parent, the chances increase that they will leave at the poverty level or below.”

While the series puts a face on disparities in the black community, it also highlights success, Reid said.

He traveled from Houston to Atlanta with a large family en route to a reunion. Included in that group were the Smiths, described as an example of what can happen. The mother and father reared six children in Houston’s Fifth Ward.

“All six of the children have succeeded and exceeded,” Reid said, adding that the sixth child will enter college this year. “This is a story about the state of black America, but it is also a story about all of America.”