BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2019 PROGRAM GUIDE

AMERICAN MASTERS: SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME Tuesday, February 19 • 9 p.m.

This February, WETA Television celebrates Black History Month with special programming that highlights the African-American experience. Schedule subject to change; visit weta.org for complete listings and local resources. All programs air on WETA TV 26/HD.

Friday, February 1 • 8:30 p.m.WETA ARTS — This half-hour magazine-style local arts and culture series features a variety of stories that showcase the arts scene in the Greater Washington area. This month, segments include:

JAMES REESE EUROPE AND THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS — Kennedy Center jazz director, Jason Moran, creates a multi-media exploration of the influence of musician James Reese Europe, a renowned bandleader and commander of an all-black unit that fought in World War I. GORDON PARKS IN THE CLASSROOM — Visionary photojournalist Gordon Parks documented the lives of black Americans for six decades. Now the National Gallery of Art is taking his work into local schools to teach what Parks called “the common search for a better life and a better world.” JUST OUT THE WINDOW — Local playwright Tom Minter uses photographs and videos of changing DC neighborhoods taken by high school students to inspire an operatic play premiering at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum.PICTURING JUSTICE — Rhea Combs, curator of film and photography at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Melani Douglass, director of public programs at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, show and discuss landmark photos from the pre-Civil War era to the Civil Rights Movement to counter stereotypes and create positive images of African American life.Repeats Sun 2/3, 6:30 p.m.; Tue 2/5, 3 p.m.; Fri 2/8, 1 p.m.; Mon 2/11, 1 p.m.; Wed 2/20, 2:30 p.m.; Sun 2/24, 5:30 p.m; Wed 2/27, 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 2 • 9:30 p.m.WETA MOVIE: A SOLDIER’S STORY — In this film about racism in a segregated regiment of the U.S. Army, a black officer is sent to investigate the murder of a black sergeant in Louisiana near the end of World War II. Repeats Sun 2/3, 12:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 2 • 11:30 p.m.BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK: AND STILL I RISE — OUT OF THE SHADOW/MOVE ON UP — If the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. came back and asked what had happened in the last half-century since his passing, what would you tell him? In part one of this four-hour program, Harvard scholar and WETA partner Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., looks at the last five decades of African American history since the major civil rights victories of the 1960s.

Sunday, February 3 • 2:30 p.m.INDEPENDENT LENS: TELL THEM WE ARE RISING: THE STORY OF BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES — This film explores the pivotal role historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have played over the course of 150 years in American history, culture and identity. Stanley Nelson’s film reveals the power of HBCUs to transform lives and advance civil rights and equality in the face of injustice.

Sunday, February 3 • 11 p.m. AMERICAN MASTERS: MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE — Through interviews, rare archival photographs, and her own words, learn about Maya Angelou’s incredible journey from her upbringing in the Depression-era South to her many successes as an author, poet and civil rights activist.

Monday, February 4 • 11 p.m. INDEPENDENT LENS: BLACK MEMORABILIA — At the intersection of racial identity, historical narrative and international commerce, this film follows the propagation of demeaning representations of Americans - black memorabilia. From industrial China

to the rural South to Brooklyn, meet the people who reproduce, consume and reclaim these racially charged objects.

Tuesday, February 5 • 1 p.m. AFRICA’S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS — This six-hour documentary series, in two-parts, is hosted by Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who chronicles the continent’s history from a firmly African perspective. Episode 1. Origins. Journey with Gates to Kenya, Egypt and beyond as he discovers the origins of man, the formation of early human societies and the creation of significant cultural and scientific achievements on the African continent. Episode 2. The Cross and the Crescent. Gates charts the ancient rise of Christianity & Islam.

Tuesday, February 5 • 8 p.m. FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 5 — In a new season of this WETA co-production, join Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to uncover the surprising ancestral stories of 25 cultural trailblazers. Episode 5. Freedom Tales. Gates delves deep into the roots of two African-American guests, actor S. Epatha Merkerson and athlete and television personality Michael Strahan. Both discover unexpected stories that challenge assumptions about black history. Repeats Wed, 2/6, 5 p.m.

Wednesday, February 6 • 1 p.m. AFRICA’S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS — This six-hour documentary series in two parts is hosted by Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who chronicles the continent’s history from a firmly African perspective. Episode 3. Empires of Gold. Gates uncovers the complex trade networks and advanced educational institutions that transformed early north and west Africa from deserted lands into the continent’s wealthiest kingdoms and learning epicenters. Episode 4. Cities. Gates explores the power of Africa’s greatest ancient cities whose wealth, art and industrious successes attracted new European interest and interaction along the continent’s east and west coasts.

Wednesday, February 6 • 3 p.m. AMERICAN MASTERS: FATS DOMINO — This biography series explores how the musical artist’s style of New Orleans rhythm and blues became rock ‘n’ roll. Repeats Wed 2/14, 3 p.m.

Wednesday, February 6 • 4 p.m. AMERICAN MASTERS: B.B. KING: THE LIFE OF RILEY — This biography explores the challenging life and career of B.B. King, the “King of the Blues,” through candid interviews with the artist and his fellow music stars, including Bono, Bonnie Raitt, and Carlos Santana. Repeats Tue 2/12, 1 p.m.; Fri 2/15, 2 p.m.

Thursday, February 7 • 1 p.m. AFRICA’S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS — This six-hour documentary series in two parts is hosted by Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who chronicles the continent’s history from a firmly African perspective. Episode 5. The Atlantic Age. Gates explores the impact of the Atlantic trading world on giving rise to powerful new kingdoms and promoting the transatlantic slave trade. Episode 6. Commerce and the Clash of Civilizations. Learn more about the 19th century “Scramble for Africa,” as Gates examines the extent of European interference from the expansion of the slave trade to the destructive Belgian Congo Free State.

Thursday, February 7 • 3 p.m. JOHN LEWIS: GET IN THE WAY — Whether advancing civil rights in the 1960s or leading a sit-in for gun control in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016, Congressman Lewis stands up against injustice wherever he finds it. Repeats Fri 2/15, 1 p.m.

Friday, February 8 • 1:30 p.m. SMOKEY ROBINSON: THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS GERSHWIN PRIZE FOR POPULAR SONG — Get your toes tappin’ and your memories ignited during this celebration of singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson, winner of the 2016 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

Friday, February 8 • 9:30 p.m.LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: PIPELINE — Nya is an inner-city high school teacher who deals with the realities of righteous rage, family dynamics and the pitfalls of an education system divided into public and private.

Saturday, February 9 • 10 p.m. TO SIR WITH LOVE — Follow an idealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London’s East End. Repeats Sun 2/10, 12 p.m.

Sunday, February 10 • 12 a.m.BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK: AND STILL I RISE – KEEP YOUR HEAD UP/TOUCH THE SKY – Part two continues to explore the tremendous gains and persistent challenges of the post-civil rights years, examining major events and turning points in American race relations.

Sunday, February 10 • 2:30 p.m. AMERICAN MASTERS: AUGUST WILSON: THE GROUND ON WHICH I STAND — Meet August Wilson, “America’s Shakespeare,” from his roots as an activist and poet to his indelible mark on Broadway. This biography chronicles Wilson’s triumphs and struggles along the path to such works as the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fences and The Piano Lesson.Repeats Wed 2/13, 1 p.m.

Sunday, February 10 • 11 p.m.INDEPENDENT LENS: THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION — Film director Stanley Nelson revisits the turbulent 1960s, when a new revolutionary culture emerged with the Black Panther Party at the vanguard.

Monday, February 11 • 11 p.m.INDEPENDENT LENS: HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING — Visit the world of Hale County, Alabama. Composed of intimate and unencumbered moments in the lives of people in the community, this film offers a richly detailed glimpse at life in America’s Black Belt.

Tuesday, February 12 • 3 p.m.ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: CELEBRATING BLACK AMERICANA — Antiques Roadshow is honoring Black History Month with the special episode Celebrating Black Americana.

Sunday, February 17 • 12 a.m. AN EVENING WITH KEN CHENAULT — A one-on-one interview provides a rare inside look into the life and career of Ken Chenault, former CEO of American Express.

Sunday, February 17 • 11 p.m.POV: QUEST — In a moving portrait of a family from North Philadelphia, Christopher “Quest” Rainey and his wife, Christine’a “Ma Quest,” raise a family while nurturing a community of hip-hop artists in their basement studio.

Tuesday, February 19 • 9 p.m.AMERICIAN MASTERS: SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME — Learn more about the life and career of legendary Rat Pack member, Sammy Davis, Jr. and his journey for identity through the Civil Rights Movement and racial tensions in 20th century America. Repeats Wed 2/20, 3 p.m.; Thur 2/21, 1 p.m.; Wed 2/27, 1 p.m.

Friday, February 22 • 9:30 p.m.INDEPENDENT LENS: I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO — This film envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words, spoken by Samuel L. Jackson. I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the civil rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter.

Sunday, February 24 • 1 a.m.THE TALK: RACE IN AMERICA — In the wake of recent tragic and fatal events between men of color and law enforcement, learn how black and Hispanic families counsel their kids to stay safe if they are stopped by the police.

Tuesday, February 26 • 9 p.m.ROADS TO MEMPHIS: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE — Witness the entwined stories of assassin James Earl Ray and his target, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., against the backdrop of the seething and turbulent forces in American society that led these two men to their violent and tragic collision in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. Repeats Wed 2/27, 4 p.m.

JAMES REESE EUROPE AND THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS, courtesy National Archives; A SOLDIER’S STORY, courtesy American Public Television; AMERICAN MASTERS: MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE, courtesy OWN; BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK: AND STILL I RISE, courtesy AP Photo/Charles Dharapak; INDEPENDENT LENS: TELL THEM WE ARE RISING: THE STORY OF BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, courtesy Morgan State University; INDEPENDENT LENS: BLACK MEMORABILIA, courtesy C-Line Films; AFRICA’S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS, courtesy McGee Media; AMERICAN MASTERS: FATS DOMINO, courtesy Getty Images; AMERICAN MASTERS: B.B. KING: The LIFE OF RILEY, courtesy Kevin Nixon; JOHN LEWIS: GET IN THE WAY, courtesy Early Light Productions; LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: PIPELINE, courtesy Jeremy Daniel; TO SIR WITH LOVE, courtesy American Public Television; AMERICAN MASTERS: AUGUST WILSON: THE GROUND ON WHICH I STAND, courtesy Chris Bennion; BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK: AND STILL I RISE, courtesy AP Photo/Jack Thomell; COVER: AMERICAN MASTERS: SAMMY DAVIS, JR.:I’VE GOTTA BE ME, courtesy Photographed by Milton H. Greene ©Joshua Greene.

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