Mar 19, 2010 | WDC: 62.6 °F
Washington’s source for compelling television and inspiring classical music
Black History Month 2010
February 2010
WETA Television proudly celebrates Black History Month with a special lineup of nearly 20 television programs that highlight the rich culture and history of African Americans.
Throughout the broadcast year, WETA is committed to presenting programs reflecting the diversity of our community. See below for:
The programs below are listed in alphabetical order. All shows will be simulcast on both TV 26 and WETA HD except for the dates marked with an asterisk (*), which indicates the program will only be shown on WETA TV 26.
African American Lives
Sunday, February 7 at 2:00 pm (Part 1)
Sunday, February 14 at 2:00 pm (Part 2)
Harvard African-American Studies scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. uses genealogy and DNA science to tell the story of eight accomplished African Americans -- including Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones -- tracing their roots through American history and back to Africa. Episode 1 of 2: Discovering Roots/The Promise of Freedom. In exploring the family histories of the program participants, Gates explores the post-World War I “Great Migration” of African-American families to northern cities and examines Jim Crow segregation in the South; in the second hour, Gates explores how African Americans defined their freedom after slavery. Episode 2 of 2: Searching for Our Names/Beyond the Middle Passage. Dr. Gates finds genealogical research more challenging as he works back from the Civil War through the Colonial period of American history, searching war records and property inventories; exhausting the paper trail, Gates visits West Africa after consulting with scientists who are using DNA analysis to trace ancestral roots.
See all broadcast times and channels »
America Beyond the Color Line With Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Sunday, February 21 at 2:00 pm (Part 1)
Sunday, February 28 at 2:00 pm (Part 2)
The Harvard scholar of African-American Studies travels around the United States to examine the state of black America. Episode 1 of 2: "South: The Black Belt/Chicago: Streets of Heaven." Gates travels to Memphis, Birmingham and Atlanta to find out how much these cities have changed since the era of legal segregation; Gates visits housing projects of Chicago’s South Side to find out what life is like for America’s underclass. Episode 2 of 2: "East Coast: Ebony Towers/Los Angeles: Black Hollywood." Gates travels to Washington, D.C. and New York to determine whether the success of the new black power elite represents genuine progress for black America as a whole; the professor visits Hollywood to find out if the entertainment industry is growing colorblind in pursuit of box office success.
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Behind the Rainbow
Sunday, February 27 at 12:30 am
Over two tumultuous decades, South Africa has arrived on its own bumpy road to democracy. With the 2009 presidential election looming as a historical turning point, this documentary is a previously untold account of the country’s political problems, struggles and realities. From Independent Lens.
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An Evening With Eartha Kitt
Wednesday, February 10 at 4:00 pm *
In a lively and playful interview, WETA’s Gwen Ifill talks with legendary performer Eartha Kitt about her stage, dance and acting career. Kitt closes the program by singing “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “La Vie En Rose” and “Here’s to Life.”
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An Evening With Quincy Jones
Wednesday, February 3 at 4:00 pm *
This hour-long interview taped in Washington, DC with a live audience offers a rare look into the life of music mogul Quincy Jones. WETA's Gwen Ifill interviews Jones and hosts the star-studded evening, which features live performances by Lesley Gore, BeBe Winans, James Ingram, Bobby McFerrin and Herbie Hancock.
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An Evening With Smokey Robinson
Friday, February 5 at 10:00 pm
Sunday, February 7 at 4:00 pm
WETA’s Gwen Ifill talks with Smokey Robinson, giving viewers an insider’s look at the life and career of the Motown legend. The program, taped in 2009 before an audience at Northwestern University Thorne Auditorium, features former Motown executive and film producer Suzanne de Passe as mistress of ceremonies, with musical tributes from Grammy-nominated artists such as Teena Marie, Howard Hewett and Musiq Soulchild.
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Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans
Wednesday, February 24 at 3:00 pm
Lolis Eric Elie, a New Orleans newspaperman, takes viewers on a tour of the city in what becomes a reflection on the relevance of history folded into a love letter to his storied neighborhood, Faubourg Tremé. Arguably the oldest black neighborhood in America and the birthplace of jazz, Faubourg Tremé was home to the largest community of free black people in the Deep South during slavery and a hotbed of political ferment. Here, black and white, free and enslaved, rich and poor cohabitated, collaborated and clashed to create America’s first civil rights movement and a unique American culture.
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For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots
Sunday, February 21 at 4:00 pm (Part 1)
Sunday, February 28 at 4:00 pm (Part 2)
This four-hour series documents the profound sacrifices and largely ignored contributions of black soldiers throughout American history — from the earliest days of the Revolutionary War to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The films are introduced by Colin Powell, hosted on-camera by Halle Berry, narrated by Avery Brooks, and feature dramatic readings by an all-star cast of celebrities.
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Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness
Saturday, February 6 at 11:00 pm
Using photomontage re-creations, interviews, animation, original field footage and recordings, this film examines the forgotten legacy of Melville Herskovits. The controversial Jewish anthropologist’s writings in the 40s and 50s challenged widely held assumptions about race and culture by insisting that we look at the world through each other’s lives and histories. From Independent Lens.
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In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement
Thursday, February 11 at 8:00 pm
Friday, February 12 at 1:30 pm
The WETA production, created in association with the National Black Programming Consortium, features President and Mrs. Obama hosting a February 10 concert in the White House East Room that celebrates songs from the Civil Rights Movement performed by an array of top musical artists from that era along with contemporary pop luminaries. Onstage performers include Smokey Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend and The Blind Boys of Alabama. The program is hosted by Morgan Freeman and Queen Latifah.
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Marvin Gaye: What's Going On
Thursday, February 18 at 10:40 pm
Tuesday, February 23 at 4:00 pm
The biography series profiles the enormously talented and equally complicated Motown recording artist and soul/pop music performer. The film features performance footage and insights from Gaye’s peers in the music business. From American Masters.
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A Ripple of Hope
Monday, February 15 at 10:00 pm
On the night of Dr. Martin Luther King’s murder in 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was scheduled to make an appearance in an African-American neighborhood in Indianapolis as part of his run for the Democratic presidential nomination. This documentary explores how, upon hearing the tragic news, Kennedy kept his promise to speak in Indianapolis and was able to help that city avert the violence that swept the rest of the country and make a profound statement about American race relations.
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Sam Cooke: Crossing Over
Sunday, February 16 at 4:00 pm
Friday, February 26 at 2:30 pm
Before Otis Redding, before Motown, before Aretha Franklin became the Queen of Soul, Sam Cooke put the spirit of the black church into popular music, creating a new American sound. American Masters explores his life and music.
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Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
Wednesday, February 3 at 2:00 pm (Part 1)
Wednesday, February 10 at 2:00 pm (Part 2)
A film directed by Ken Burns and co-produced by WETA chronicles the life and career of the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion, who suffered racially motivated persecution by the U.S. government. Part 1 of 2: Johnson enters the world of professional boxing and in 1908 captures the heavyweight title, setting in motion a worldwide search for a “white hope” to defeat him. In the 1910 “Battle of the Century” that results, Johnson fights ex-title holder Jim Jeffries. Part 2 of 2: Johnson's defeat of Jeffries leaves him on top of the boxing world, but the U.S. government sets out to destroy him in the courts, using his sometimes-troubled relationships with white women as an excuse to prosecute him.
See all broadcast times and channels »
The World of Nat King Cole
Friday, February 19 at 10:00 pm
Friday, February 26 at 3:30 pm
A biography of the performer focuses not just on Cole’s celebrity, but on the Civil Rights Movement and how the singer of such popular songs as “Mona Lisa,” “Too Young” and “Pretend” broke through major racial barriers in the entertainment industry as the first black American to have his own national radio show and the first black American to have his own television show. From American Masters.
See all broadcast times and channels »
Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun
Wednesday, February 17 at 3:00 pm
The biography series spotlights author Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most celebrated -- and most controversial -- figures of the Harlem Renaissance. An African-American writer, cultural anthropologist, chronicler of folk roots, and daughter of former slaves, Hurston attained success but ultimately died a pauper’s death in total obscurity. Her works were resurrected by author Alice Walker. From American Masters.
See all broadcast times and channels »
Community resources
Advocacy
- Institute for Black Charities
- Black Women and Sisterhood for Action
- Concerned Black Men
- Washington Area Urban League
- NAACP
- National Black Chamber of Commerce
- National Coalition of 100 Black Women
- National Council of Negro Women
- United Black Fund
- United Negro College Fund
Arts
- African American Civil War Memorial
- African American Heritage Park
- Alexandria Black History Museum
- Anacostia Community Museum
- Association for the Study of African American Life & History
- Blacks In Wax Museum
- The Dance Place
- Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site
- Sandy Spring Museum and Slave Quarters
- Duke Ellington's Washington - D.C. History
- Thurgood Marshall Center
Children/Family
Education
Fraternities and Sororities
- Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
- Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
- Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
- Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority
- Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity
- Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
- Iota Phi Theta Fraternity
- Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Health
- Black Nurses Association of Washington D.C.
- Community Family Life Services
- Healthy Babies Project
- National Association of Black Psychologists
- National Minority Aids Council
- Office of Minority Health
- Whitman-Walker Clinic
Media
- African American Times
- Afro-American Newspaper
- National Association of Black Journalists
- Sister 2 Sister
- theGrio
- Washington Informer
Books
- Alford, Terry. Prince among Slaves: The True Story of an African Prince Sold Into Slavery in the American South.
- Franklin, John Hope. The Emancipation Proclamation.
- Hampton, Henry. Voices of Freedom.
- Johnson, James Weldon. The Books of the American Negro Spirituals.
- Kunhardt, Philip B. Looking for Lincoln.
- Mandela, Nelson. The Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela.
- Morris, Aldon D. Origins of the Civil Rights Movement.
- Ronnell, Brad B. No Longer Slaves.
- Rose, James M. Black Genisis: A Resource Book for African American Genealogy.
- Sampson, Anthony. Mandela.
- Ward, Geoffrey C. Unforgivable Blackness.
- Williams, Juan. Eyes On The Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965.
- Williams, Juan. Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary.
Watch online
Anacostia
History of Anacostia
Originally known as Uniontown, what is now Anacostia was the first planned suburb of Washington City. WETA explores the community's history from its beginning in the 1850s and reflects on how the area has changed over the past 50 years with longtime resident Gloria Whitfield.
Walking Tours
Frederick Douglass House
The home of Frederick Douglass is a National Historic Site that is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the leading African American spokesman of the 19th century. Visitors to the Frederick Douglass House learn about his efforts to abolish slavery and his struggle for rights for all oppressed people.
Walking Tours
Alexandria Black History Museum
From slavery in the 18th century through the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century, the Alexandria Black History Museum illuminates the African American experience in Alexandria, Virginia, throughout the city's 250 year history. The museum also serves as a popular arts venue and gathering spot for Alexandria's black community.
Shaw
Duke Ellington's DC
In the early 20th century, Shaw was known as "Black Broadway" and the home of jazz legend Duke Ellington. WETA examines the Duke's Shaw and the area's recent renewal.
Walking Tours
Anacostia Museum
The nation's first federally funded neighborhood museum, the Anacostia Museum for African American History and Culture celebrates the art and culture of black Washington, and reaches out to the local community through educational programs and exhibits.
Shaw
Anna J. Cooper House
Having lived to be 106 years old, Dr. Anna J. Cooper witnessed the death of slavery, and became the fourth African American woman to earn a doctorate degree. Brian Brown is restoring the Anna J. Cooper House to resemble its appearance around 1900.
Walking Tours
Bohemian Caverns
In 1926, a little jazz club was opened in the basement of a drugstore located at 11th and U St. called Club Caverns. The club became known as Bohemian Caverns in the late 1950's and has brought a great many artists to its stage, including immortals such as Washington's Son Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Billy Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Louis Armstrong, Ramsey Lewis, Less McCann, Miles Davis, Shirley Horn, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Wynton Marsalis, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus and even Bill Cosby.
Southwest
Dr. Dorothy Haight
Civil Rights advocate and Southwest resident Dr. Dorothy Haight exemplifies the important leadership role of women in the Civil Rights Movement. We sit down and talk with this local legend who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and who has met with U.S. presidents from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush.
Southwest
Genealogy 101
WETA offers a primer in beginning your own family history project.
Shepherd Park
Neighbors, Inc.
Shepherd Park was one of the Districts' first truly integrated neighborhoods, largely because of a group of citizens called Neighbors, Incorporated. In the late 1950s, this group of black and white residents came together to fight unfair housing practices and to promote integration. They are still an active part of Shepherd Park today.
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Phone: 703-998-2724
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