I can still remember the sadness I felt when I learned that Fred Rogers, or Mister Rogers as he is better known, died on Feb. 27, 2003. I certainly did not know him personally and yet felt a sense of grief in his loss. I imagine that was, in part, because of the gratitude I felt for the parenting wisdom I gained from him as he interacted with my young children, and the joy that I saw his programing bringing to them on “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.”
It is the same sort of sadness I felt when I learned that at the age of 91, journalist Bill Moyers died last week on June 26, 2025. Like Fred Rogers, Bill Moyers was a pioneer in educational television. While his audience was adults, not children, the two men shared a similar kindness and generosity of spirit while remaining passionate about causes they deemed important.
They both cared about all people, believing that everyone matters. They were both ministers whose ministry took them beyond the traditional audience of a congregation to serve a broader spectrum of people. Their personal integrity and unwavering encouragement of our higher values as humans and as citizens, are lasting influences in our public life.
From ministry to journalism
I first heard of Bill Moyers when I was at Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, through my ethics professor, Glenn Hinson. Moyers was trained for ministry at Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, where he learned from his ethics professor, the legendary TB Maston, to pursue truth and share it, even if it is costly.
By the time I heard of him, Moyers had moved beyond the Texas Baptist congregations he pastored, to serve as Deputy Director of the Peace Corps for President Kennedy, Press Secretary for President Johnson, a newspaper publisher of Long Island- based “Newsday,” winning two Pulitzer prizes in three years, written his first of many best-selling books, “Listening to America: a Traveler Rediscovers His Country,” and had begun his long, productive career in television.
While Mr. Rogers prioritized educating children, Moyers was eager to educate grown- ups, giving opportunities to all citizens, whether privileged to have secondary education or not, to learn about matters of importance in our nation and world.
As a young adult, I often spoke by phone with my parents on Sunday evenings after we both had made it home from church and our Sunday evening worship responsibilities. Beyond Daddy’s weather report, they would frequently mention what they had learned that week from Bill Moyers on his weekly broadcast or documentary on public television.
Addressing difficult topics
Between 1982 and 2006, 70 different documentaries, interviews, or limited series produced and hosted by Moyers ran on PBS stations, and I dare say my parents watched most of them. It was thrilling to me to know that my parents, who had not had the opportunity to attend college, were learning reliable and important information on topics like poverty, race, the environment, democracy, and medicine, all from such an intelligent and compassionate educator.
Moyers won 13 Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and three George Polk Awards for contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995.
He was courageous to take on difficult topics that needed to be addressed, as well as important arts, literature, philosophy and religion offerings that needed to be heard and experienced to remain ever true to the education of all citizens. He always held the viewer and the reader of his work as citizens, not consumers, and did his best to honor their curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
I remember his documentary series, “Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth,” a six- episode series exploring universal themes found in myth, religion, and the human experience. Campbell’s work influenced George Lucas in the creation of “Star Wars,” which in part is what makes this particular documentary series so popular, with over 30 million viewers.
I recall working with WFSU and colleagues at Big Bend Hospice to share Moyer’s excellent four-part series on death and dying with the Tallahassee-area community. Titled, “On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying in America,” it is a practical, not morbid approach to a journey we all will one day make, and the community’s participation was a testimony to the documentary’s excellence.
Preserving freedom
Moyers often said that he loved being a “citizen’s journalist,” which is why he had so much trouble retiring. Just last year, when he was 90, he was the narrator of a “Two American Families: 1991–2024,” a documentary that he filmed over 34 years. This landmark documentary follows two working-class families as they navigate a changing economy and shifting idea of the American Dream. It is one of Moyers’ most enduring projects, and it brought him great joy to see the project to its completion.
As our nation observes Independence Day on July 4, celebrating the Declaration of Independence and its eloquent concept of all people being created equal, “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, [including] Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness,” – Moyers, in a video essay on the 4th of July on YouTube filmed in 2012- challenges us to reflect on the historical incongruity of these words for so many Americans then and now.
He calls on our empathy in this and in all the ways in which “we together work to preserve the gift of freedom we have received and the legacy we must bequeath.”
Mr. Rogers sang a song in the neighborhood teaching children about telling the truth and its importance to our freedom. Mr. Moyers said, “What matters is not how close you are to power, but how close you are to truth.” These two remarkable, humble men, each in their own way, pursued truth and have wisdom for us all, and it is my prayer that we all will pay attention as we celebrate this 4th of July weekend.
The Rev. Candace McKibben is an ordained minister and pastor of Tallahassee Fellowship.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: In pursuit of freedom and truth on Independence Day weekend | Candace McKibben
Reporting by Rev. Candace McKibben / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
