Black History Month on NPT brings a collection of programs to entertain, inform and inspire. Anchoring this year’s lineup is the Independent Lens broadcast of Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities, premiering Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 8 p.m. This documentary by Stanley Nelson and Marco Williams highlights the role HCBUs – as the schools are commonly called – have traditionally played and continue to play in American society. The film was featured in NPT’s free Indie Lens Pop-Up event in February.
Additional programs are available for streaming via the NPT Passport portal; click here to see a full catalog of these shows. A selection of NPT’s original productions to enjoy during Black History Month is available here.
Special programs on air this month include:
AfroPop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange The 10th season of this multifaceted show is hosted by actor Nicholas L. Ashe and airs Tuesdays at 11 p.m. Episodes include a trio of short films highlighting a young percussionist and artist Lonnie Holley – who in 2014 conducted artist-in-residence workshops at Nashville’s Edmondson Park (Feb. 13). Later in the month, 10 Days in Africa: A Home Movie, chronicles filmmaker Regi Allen’s journey to Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal (Feb. 27).
We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told, airing Monday, Feb. 19, at 11:01 p.m., is a journey through the jazz history of Pittsburgh. Steel City natives George Benson, Billy Eckstine, Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn and Mary Lou Williams are among the featured musicians. The program also considers the social conditions and historical events that fueled that creative output.
We’ll Meet Again: Freedom Summer airs Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. This episode of Ann Curry’s show about heartwarming reunions brings together people whose paths crossed during the civil rights movement.
Also, watch for encore presentations of:
- The Education of Harvey Gantt, about the first African American accepted to a white college in South Carolina (Monday, Feb. 12, at 11:30 p.m.)
- And Still I Rise, the American Masters profile of Maya Angelou (Friday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m.)
- Fighting on Both Fronts: The Story of the 370th, about a unit of African American combat soldiers whose members received 21 Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal and 68 Croix de Guerre for their service in World War I. (Thursday, Feb, 22, at 9:30 p.m.)
- John Lewis: Get in the Way (Monday, Feb. 26, at 11 p.m.)
We are also rebroadcasting several NPT original productions about African-American history. These include First Black Statesmen: Tennessee’s Self-Made Men (Monday, Feb. 19, at 9:30 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 22, at 8:30 p.m.) and NPT’s Emmy Award-winning documentary, The Early Black Press: Tennessee Voices Lifted (Thursday, Feb. 22, at 9 p.m.).
Find our full programming lineup at http://www.wnpt.org/schedule/.
Black History Month programming on NPT is made possible through the financial support of
