On December 2nd, USA Network and NBC News Special Correspondent Tom Brokaw held the first-ever Characters Unite National Town Hall, a ground-breaking, high-level discussion on America’s social injustices and cultural divides in Washington D.C.

Inspired by USA Network’s community affairs campaign – Characters Unite — the event brought together a panel of distinguished leaders who shared ideas on how to unite Americans in order to tackle some of the most difficult issues facing the nation, including the economy, health care reform, immigration, education and civil rights.

Psych star Dulé Hill Presented First Ever Characters Unite Award to California High School Teacher Brian Jeffrey, who co-founded a multiracial, nationwide student club called “Socially Together and Naturally Diverse” or STAND as a positive way to bring
kids together to celebrate their diversity and confront racism, sexism and homophobia.

Rocker Jon Bon Jovi participated in the panel where he spoke about his responsibility when promoting cultural divides in pop culture.

“I’ve taken a certain point of view that I’ve always taken on … this unbridled optimism in a strange way. Bon Jovi said he saw himself as an ambassador for American pop culture when he traveled abroad, and he said he believed anti-American sentiment has come back again in the past decade.

His “unbridled optimism” defies borders and cultures, he said.

“They don’t see color, and I find that very interesting,” he said, reflecting on his four children. “Maybe my kids are unique, but what I’m hoping for is that the next generation are going to be much more understanding of the racial divide of the economic divide that we are living right now.”

During the Town Hall, Brokaw previewed his new documentary, American Character Along Highway 50, produced by Peacock Productions, set to premiere on USA Network on Martin Luther King Day, January 18, 2010.

The film follows Brokaw’s journey at a pivotal point in our country’s history as he travels across legendary U.S. Highway 50 discovering how Americans are fairing during these extraordinary times, immersing himself in the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people to reveal uniquely American stories of hardship, survival and hope.

For more information on this documentary head over here.