WETA Public Television proudly celebrates BlackHistory Month with special programming thathighlights the rich culture and history of AfricanAmericans. Throughout the broadcast year,WETA is committed to presenting programsreflecting the diversity of our community. Visitweta.org for the complete digital programschedule* as well as arts, advocacy, and educationalresources on the African-American experience.

Sunday, February 6 • 1:30 p.m. AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2 — A genealogy specialjourneys deep into the African-American experienceto unearth the family histories of prominentAmericans, including poet Maya Angelou; authorBliss Broyard; actor Don Cheadle; actor MorganFreeman; theologian Peter Gomes; publisher LindaJohnson Rice; Washington, D.C. radio personalityTom Joyner; athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee; comedianChris Rock; rock ‘n’ roll legend Tina Turner — andone ordinary American, Kathleen Henderson,selected from thousands of applicants. Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. returns as serieshost. Episode 1 of 2. The Road Home/A Way Out of No Way. The first hour focuses on stories of participants’ ancestors in the early 20th century,including the tragic fate of Tom Joyner’s great-uncles, and Bliss Broyard’s discovery about theidentity of her father — renowned New York Timescritic Anatole Broyard — at the time of his death.Then Gates continues to trace the guests’ lineagesback through the late 1800s to the Civil War. {DVI}

Sunday, February 6 • 3:30 p.m. AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2 — Episode 2 of 2.We Come From People/The Past is Another Country.The program reveals stories of participants’ ancestorsduring the early years of the United States, includinga riveting account of life in slavery by MorganFreeman’s great-grandmother, unearthed withinthe records of the Depression-era Works ProgressAdministration, and Peter Gomes’ ancestors, whowere freed and supported by Quaker families inVirginia in the late 1700s. The final hour presentsdiscoveries about participants’ lineages, thanks toDNA analysis. {DVI}

Sunday, February 13 • 12:00 a.m. INDEPENDENT LENS: WHEN I RISE — A documentary spotlightsBarbara Smith Conrad, a gifted University of Texas music student who found herself at the epicenter of racial controversy and struggled against the odds toultimately ascend the heightsof international opera.

Sunday, February 13 • 1:30 p.m. AMERICA BEYOND THE COLOR LINE WITHHENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.— The Harvard scholarof African-American Studies travels around theUnited States to examine the state of blackAmerica. Episode 1 of 2. South: The Black Belt/Chicago: Streets of Heaven. Gates travels toMemphis, Birmingham and Atlanta to find outhow much these cities have changed since the eraof legal segregation; Gates visits housing projectsof Chicago’s South Side to find out what life islike for America’s underclass.

Sunday, February 13 • 3:30 p.m. AMERICA BEYOND THE COLOR LINE WITHHENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.— The Harvard scholarof African-American Studies travels around theUnited States to examine the state of black America.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 ofthe new black power elite represents genuine progressfor black America as a whole; the professor visitsHollywood to find out if the entertainment industryis growing colorblind in pursuit of box office success.

Saturday, February 19 • 9:33 p.m. THE WETA MOVIE: THE COLOR PURPLE— In Steven Spielberg’s 1985 drama, adapted fromAlice Walker’s novel, a black Southern woman(Whoopi Goldberg) struggles to find her identityafter suffering years of abuse from her father andothers for more than 40 years. Goldberg starsalongside Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey. Thefilm received 11 Oscar nominations.

Sunday, February 20 • 12:10 a.m. INDEPENDENT LENS: ADJUST YOUR COLOR:THE TRUTH OF PETEY GREENE — America’soriginal shock-jock, Emmy Award-winningWashington talk show host Petey Greene over-came poverty, drug addiction and prison time to“tell it like it is,” shocking and entertaining every-one from the ghetto to the White House. Narratedby Don Cheadle, the film looks at how Greeneunsettled the establishment as he battled both thesystem and his own demons.

Sunday, February 20 • 2:30 p.m. AN EVENING WITH QUINCY JONES — A one-hour interview taped in Washington, D.C., with alive audience offers a rare look into the life of music

mogul Quincy Jones. Gwen Ifill of WETA inter-views Jones and hosts the program, which features performances by Lesley Gore, BeBe Winans, JamesIngram, Bobby McFerrin and Herbie Hancock.

Sunday, February 20 • 3:30 p.m. AN EVENING WITH SMOKEY ROBINSON—WETA’s Gwen Ifill talks with Smokey Robinson,giving viewers an insider’s look at the life andcareer of the Motown legend. The program, tapedin 2009 before an audience at NorthwesternUniversity Thorne Auditorium, features formerMotown executive and film producer Suzanne dePasse as mistress of ceremonies, with musicaltributes from Grammy-nominated artists such asTeena Marie, Howard Hewett and Musiq Soulchild.Repeats Wed 2/23, 5 PM; Thur 2/24, 1 PM

Sunday, February 20 • 4:30 p.m. AMERICAN MASTERS: SAM COOKE: CROSSING OVER— BeforeOtis Redding, before Motown, before ArethaFranklin became the Queen of Soul, Sam Cooke put thespirit of the black church into popular music, creating a new American sound.American Masters explores his life and music.

Sunday, February 20 • 5:30 p.m. AMERICAN MASTERS: MARVIN GAYE: WHAT’S GOING ON—The biography series profiles the enormouslytalented and equallycomplicated Motownrecording artist andsoul/pop music performer. The film features performancefootage and insightsfrom Gaye’s peers in the music business.

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Journalist Gwen Ifill and Quincy Jones.

COMING IN MAY

FREEDOM RIDERS A production of PBS’ AMERICAN EXPERIENCEFREEDOM RIDERS is the harrowing and ultimatelyinspirational story of six months in 1961 that

changed America forever. From May untilNovember 1961, more than 400 black and whiteAmericans risked their lives by simply travelingtogether on buses and trains through the DeepSouth. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws, theywere greeted by mob violence, bitter racism, andeven imprisonment—sorely testing their belief innonviolent activism. They called themselves theFreedom Riders and this is the first feature-lengthfilm to document their story.

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BLACKHISTORY MONTH

WETA TV26 Celebrates

Program Guide 2011

Cover photos: African American Lives IITop row: Linda Johnson Rice/Photo courtesy Johnson Publishing Company; Morgan Freeman/Photo ©Marcel Hartmann/Corbis;

Tina Turner/Photo courtesy Tina Turner; Middle row: Chris Rock/Photo ©Steve Sands/Corbis; Henry Louis Gates Jr./Photo courtesy

of Joseph Sinnott: Jackie Joyner-Kersey/Photo by Cable Risdon; Bottom row: Maya Angelou/Photo ©Dwight Carter, 2001;

Tom Joyner/Photo by Danny Turner; Don Cheadle/Photo ©Katy Winn/Corbis.

Sunday, February 27 • 3:30 p.m. UNFORGIVABLE BLACKNESS: THE RISE ANDFALL OF JACK JOHNSON— A film directed byKen Burns and co-produced by WETA chronicles the life and career of the first African-Americanheavyweight boxing champion, who suffered raciallymotivated persecution by the U.S. government. Part 1 of 2. Johnson enters the world of professionalboxing and in 1908 captures the heavyweight title,setting in motion a worldwide search for a “whitehope” to defeat him. In the 1910 “Battle of theCentury” that results, Johnson fights ex-title holderJim Jeffries. {DVI}

Sunday, February 27 • 5:30 p.m. UNFORGIVABLE BLACKNESS: THE RISE ANDFALL OF JACK JOHNSON — Part 2 of 2.Johnson’s defeat of Jeffries leaves him atop theboxing world, but the U.S. government sets out todestroy him in the courts, using his sometimes-troubled relationships with white women as anexcuse to prosecute him. {DVI}

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isUnforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.

Freedom Riders

Freedom Riders