PBS has a lot of ongoing and specialized programming highlighting the contributions of African-Americans in celebration of Black History Month. Details are below, and I’m sure I’ll be sharing my reaction to some of the programming as I get to view it, too. ~Affrodite
An Impressive Array of New and Encore Programming Before and During Black History Month
ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Throughout the year, PBS invites viewers to explore the vast contributions of African Americans. In honor and celebration of Black History Month, February 2010, PBS presents new and encore programs, beginning in January and continuing through February.
2010 brings a new primetime series hosted by Tavis Smiley. On Wednesday, January 27, “Tavis Smiley Reports” accompanies Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on diplomatic missions and goes behind the scenes at the State Department. “Austin City Limits” and “American Masters” take viewers onstage and backstage with performances and stories of groundbreaking musicians in new episodes, “Mos Def/K’naan” and “Sam Cooke: Crossing Over,” respectively.
On Thursday, February 11, 2010, PBS presents IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE “A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement,” a concert in the White House East Room. President and Mrs. Obama will host the event in honor of Black History Month. The evening will be taped live by WETA Washington, D.C. on February 10 and air on February 11 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings). The music special will include Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Seal, Smokey Robinson and the Blind Boys of Alabama, with a complete talent line-up announced in the coming weeks.
Acclaimed Harvard scholar Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. investigates the ancestry of 11 renowned Americans, including poet Elizabeth Alexander, who composed and read the poem at President Barack Obama‘s inauguration, and writer Malcolm Gladwell, with “Faces of America“, a new four-part series.
“Independent Lens” brings race to the forefront with two new films in February. “Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness” explores the often overlooked legacy of Jewish anthropologist Melville Herskovits, whose ideas in the 40s and 50s challenged the accepted assumptions about race and culture. “Behind the Rainbow” unearths once-hidden realities of South Africa’s political obstacles on the path to democracy.
A third film, “Mine/Home,” is the poignant and powerful story of pet owners separated from their animals during Hurricane Katrina, and of the ensuing struggles to bring them home. A meditation on the essential bond between humans and animals, “Mine/Home” is an equally compelling story of race and class and the power of compassion in contemporary America.
Thousands of hours of PBS programming are available on the PBS Video Portal. In mid-January, the Video Portal will release a special collection for Black History Month 2010, featuring new and encore programming, at www.pbs.org/blackhistory.
Beyond broadcast, PBS Teachers® (pbsteachers.org) conducts a series of free monthly Webinars designed to help preK-12 educators learn new ways to integrate online instructional resources in the classroom and engage students in curriculum lessons. Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. will be the guest speaker for the upcoming PBS Teachers Webinar, “Exploring the FACES OF AMERICA.” The Webinar will be held February 23, 2010, at 8:00 p.m. ET.
In addition to the Webinar, PBS Teachers offers the Unsung Heroes in African American History and Civil Rights Movement in American Literature Activity Packs for educators to use in the classroom or to post on their classroom, school or favorite social networking Web sites. The activity packs are designed for multiple grade levels and contain links to African-American history-themed education resources and activities from PBS.
NEW PROGRAMMING
AUSTIN CITY LIMITS “Mos Def/K’naan”
Saturday, January 16, 2010, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET (check local listings)
Hip hop conquers the ACL stage with sets from alternative rapper/actor Mos Def and Somalian native K’naan.
AMERICAN MASTERS “Sam Cooke: Crossing Over”
Monday, January 11, 2010, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
Portrait of Sam Cooke, who put the spirit of the black church into popular music, creating a new American sound.
FACES OF AMERICA
Wednesdays, February 10-March 3, 2010, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
Using DNA testing and genealogical research, Henry Louis Gates Jr. offers investigations of the family stories and ancestry of 11 renowned Americans. Professor Gates’ guests include poet Elizabeth Alexander, who composed and read the poem at President Barack Obama’s inauguration, chef Mario Batali, comedian Stephen Colbert, novelist Louise Erdrich, writer Malcolm Gladwell, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, film director Mike Nichols, Her Royal Highness Queen Noor, actresses Eva Longoria and Meryl Streep and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.
IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE “A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement”
Thursday, February 11, 2010, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
President and Mrs. Obama host a concert in the White House East Room in honor of Black History Month. Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Seal, Smokey Robinson and the Blind Boys of Alabama perform.
INDEPENDENT LENS “Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness”
Tuesday, February 2, 2010, 10:30-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings)
Examines the forgotten legacy of Melville Herskovits, a controversial Jewish anthropologist whose writings in the 40s and 50s challenged widely held assumptions about race and culture. Maggie Gyllenhaal hosts.
Select INDEPENDENT LENS films are available from PBS Home Video: ShopPBS.org; 877-PBS-SHOP, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
INDEPENDENT LENS “Mine/Home”
Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 10:00 – 11:30 p.m. ET (check local listings)
A powerful story of animals left behind during Katrina, and of the struggles of hurricane survivors to reunite with their beloved pets. A meditation on the essential bond between humans and animals, “Mine” is an equally compelling story of race and class, and the power of compassion, in contemporary America.
Select INDEPENDENT LENS films are available from PBS Home Video: ShopPBS.org; 877-PBS-SHOP, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
INDEPENDENT LENS “Behind the Rainbow”
Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 10:00-11:30 p.m. ET (check local listings)
A previously untold account of South Africa’s political problems, struggles and realities. Maggie Gyllenhaal hosts.
Select INDEPENDENT LENS films are available from PBS Home Video: ShopPBS.org; 877-PBS-SHOP, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
AN EVENING WITH SMOKEY ROBINSON
February 2010 (check local listings)
Gwen Ifill interviews Motown legend Smokey Robinson, giving viewers an insider’s look at the life and career of the Motown legend. The program 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.
TAVIS SMILEY REPORTS “One on One With Hillary Clinton”
Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
Tavis Smiley travels with and talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about her first year as America’s chief diplomat.
ENCORE PROGRAMMING
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2
February 2010 (check local listings)
Harvard scholar Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. guides a group — including poet Maya Angelou, actors Don Cheadle and Morgan Freeman, radio host Tom Joyner, comedian Chris Rock and rock ‘n’ roll legend Tina Turner — on a journey to discover their ancestry. The four-part series draws on DNA analysis, genealogical research and family oral tradition to trace the lineages of the participants down through U.S. history and back to Africa.
More information is available at http://pbs.org/africanamericanlives. AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2 is available from PBS Home Video: ShopPBS.org; 877-PBS-SHOP, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
AMERICAN MASTERS “Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On”
Monday, January 11, 2010, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings)
The story of Marvin Gaye — the Motown star who challenged and changed the face of black music — includes performance footage and insight from Mary Wilson, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Mos Def and others. Actor Jesse L. Martin narrates.
AMERICAN MASTERS “Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun”
Monday, February 22, 2010, 10:00-11:30 p.m. ET (check local listings)
This is a profile of author Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most celebrated — and most controversial — figures of the Harlem Renaissance, that creatively expansive era in the 1920s when “the Negro was in vogue.” S. Epatha Merkerson (“Law & Order”) narrates.
AN EVENING WITH EARTHA KITT
February 2010 (check local listings)
In this lively and playful interview, Gwen Ifill talks with late performer Eartha Kitt about her stage, dance and film career. The program features a live performance by the legendary Kitt of three musical numbers: “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “La Vie en Rose” and “Here’s to Life.”
FAUBOURG TREME: THE UNTOLD STORY OF BLACK NEW ORLEANS
February, 2010 (check local listings)
Arguably the oldest black neighborhood in America and the birthplace of jazz, Faubourg Treme was home to the largest community of free black people in the Deep South during slavery and a hotbed of political ferment. Lolis Eric Elie, a New Orleans newspaperman, tours this storied neighborhood.
GREAT PERFORMANCES “Harlem in Montmarte”
Sunday, February 7, 2010, 10:00-11:30 p.m. ET (check local listings)
A picture of the African-American expatriate community in Paris between the First and Second World Wars.
INDEPENDENT LENS “Banished”
February 2010 (check local listings)
The story of three counties that forcefully banished African-American families from their towns 100 years ago.
Select INDEPENDENT LENS films are available from PBS Home Video: ShopPBS.org; 877-PBS-SHOP, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
INDEPENDENT LENS “February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four”
February 2010 (check local listings)
On February 1, 1960, four college students staged a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, a pivotal event in the civil rights movement.
Select INDEPENDENT LENS films are available from PBS Home Video: ShopPBS.org; 877-PBS-SHOP, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
LOOKING FOR LINCOLN
Fridays, January 22-29, 2009, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings)
Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. dissects the myths that have grown up around Abraham Lincoln.
LOOKING FOR LINCOLN is available from PBS Home Video: ShopPBS.org; 877-PBS-SHOP, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
POV “Revolution ’67″
February 2010 (check local listings)
This program is an illuminating account of events too often relegated to footnotes in U.S. history — the black urban rebellions of the 1960s.
Select POV films are available from PBS Home Video: ShopPBS.org; 877-PBS-SHOP, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
PRINCE AMONG SLAVES
Friday, February 5, 2010, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings)
This special tells the forgotten true story of an African prince who was enslaved in Mississippi for 40 years before finally achieving freedom and becoming one of the most famous men in America. Mos Def narrates.
PRINCE AMONG SLAVES is available from PBS Home Video: ShopPBS.org; 877-PBS-SHOP, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
SIMON SCHAMA’S ROUGH CROSSINGS
February 2010 (check local listings)
At the end of the American Revolution, slaves were offered freedom in return for service to the British. This is the story of their resettlement, first in Nova Scotia, then Sierra Leone, where dreams of a haven came to a tragic end.
SIMON SCHAMA’S ROUGH CROSSINGS is available from PBS Home Video: ShopPBS.org; 877-PBS-SHOP, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
SISTERS OF SELMA: BEARING WITNESS FOR CHANGE
February 2010 (check local listings)
This program is an unabashedly spiritual take on the Selma, Alabama, voting rights marches of 1965 from some of its unsung foot soldiers — Catholic nuns.
SISTERS OF SELMA is available from PBS Home Video: ShopPBS.org; 877-PBS-SHOP, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
CONTINUING SERIES
TAVIS SMILEY
Monday-Friday, 11:00-11:30 p.m. ET (check local listings)
Tavis Smiley hosts this program, featuring interviews with newsmakers, politicians, celebrities and everyday people.
Watch online video, download podcasts, read the “Young Voices” blog and find more info about Tavis Smiley at http://www.pbs.org/tavissmiley.
Other series that regularly cover topics and profile guests and performers of interest to African Americans include FRONTLINE, GREAT PERFORMANCES, PBS NEWSHOUR, NOW ON PBS, POV and WASHINGTON WEEK WITH GWEN IFILL, among many others.
About PBS
PBS, with its 356 member stations, offers all Americans — from every walk of life — the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches more than 124 million people on-air and online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; hear diverse viewpoints; and take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS’ premier children’s TV programming and Web site, pbskids.org, are parents’ and teachers’ most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.
press release courtesy of PBS
Related Links
PBS- Black History Month
PBS- African American World
The one great thing about writing more is that I’m reading more. So true is the statement that knowledge is power. I love folk music but have had limited exposure. Today, I said hello Odetta’s musical life and good bye to Odetta’s physical life.
This is the first video I found on youtube and I’m already hooked. Her music is soulful and resounding. Not many people have the gift of singing in a way that allows you to get in touch with feeling behind the lyrics.
Odetta sings “Glory Halleluja” at “Satyagraha: Gandhi’s ‘Truth Force’ in the Age of Climate Change” presented by the Garrison Institute on April 13, 2008 at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLfE7p75g2g]
Odetta sings “House Of The Rising Sun” live in concert, 2005
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aaya8jYZBO8]
NY Times article entitled “Odetta, Voice of Civil Rights Movement” reporting on her death along with synopsis of Odetta’s life’s work…
Odetta, the singer whose deep voice wove together the strongest songs of American folk music and the civil rights movement, died on Tuesday at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. She was 77.
The cause was heart disease, said her manager, Doug Yeager. He added that she had been hoping to sing at Barack Obama’s inauguration…
…Odetta sang at the march on Washington, a pivotal event in the civil rights movement, in August 1963. Her song that day was “O Freedom,” dating to slavery days: “O freedom, O freedom, O freedom over me, And before I’d be a slave, I’d be buried in my grave, And go home to my Lord and be free.”
…“a majestic figure in American music, a direct gateway to bygone generations that feel so foreign today.”
Maya Angelou quote from Concerted Efforts website containing bio on Odetta…
“If only one could be sure that every 50 years a voice and a soul like Odetta’s would come along, the centuries would pass so quickly and painlessly we would hardly recognize time”
– Maya Angelou, Poet Laureate
excerpt from Answers.com bio on Odetta…
When she was 19 years old, Odetta landed a role in the Los Angeles production of Finian’s Rainbow, which was staged in the summer of 1949 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles…The following summer, Odetta was again performing in summer stock in California. This time it was a production of Guys and Dolls, staged in San Francisco. Hanging out in North Beach during her days off, Odetta had her first experience with the growing local folk music scene….
…Pete Seeger and Harry Belafonte had both taken an interest in her career by this time, and her debut album, The Tin Angel, was released in 1954. From this time forward, Odetta worked to expand her repertoire and make full use of what she has always termed her “instrument.” When she began singing, she was considered a coloratura soprano. As she matured, she became more of a mezzo-soprano. Her experience singing folk music led her to discover a vocal range that runs from coloratura to baritone.
Odetta’s most productive decade as a recording artist came in the 1960s, when she released 16 albums, including Odetta at Carnegie Hall, Christmas Spirituals, Odetta and the Blues, It’s a Mighty World, and Odetta Sings Dylan. In 1999 she released her first studio album in 14 years, Blues Everywhere I Go. Vanguard Records has released two excellent Odetta compilations: The Essential Odetta (1989) and Best of the Vanguard Years (1999). On September 29, 1999, President Bill Clinton presented Odetta with the National Endowment for the Arts’ Medal of the Arts, a fitting tribute to one of the great treasures of American music.
The next few years found Odetta releasing some new full-length albums, including Livin’ with the Blues and a collection of Leadbelly tunes, Looking for a Home. She toured North America, Latvia, and Scotland during this time and was mentioned in Martin Scorsese’s 2005 documentary, No Direction Home. That same year Odetta released Gonna Let It Shine, which went on to receive a 2007 Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album.
RIP Odetta Gordon
I wish I took the time to write this post right after watching the movie, but my hubby and I caught a showing of The Secret Life of Bees a few weeks ago on a whim. As someone who rarely goes to the movies anymore, this was definitely worth the trip to see it on the big screen. With a cast that includes several musician-actresses Queen Latifah, Alicia Keyes, and Jennifer Hudson, I was initially leery to check out a chick flick sans some of the chick flick classic divas. However, I was wrong. These ladies along with Sophie Okenodo really brought the story to life.
Ladies, this will channel all of your mother issues as each character has a story to tell. There are moments where I could have used a tissue box (lots of those moments so be prepared) and moments that I outted a belly laugh. My! Dakota Fanning is growing up, but she played her role as Lily well. Her character is near and dear to my own heart as she dreams of being a writer.
Kudos to Gina Prince-Bythewood who directed the on screen version and has classics such as “Love and Basketball” and “Disappearing Acts” on her resume.
The NY Times published a review called “A Golden Dollup of Motherly Comfort“. The first paragraph is below…
Adapted by Gina Prince-Bythewood from the best-selling novel by Sue Monk Kidd, “The Secret Life of Bees” unfolds in a sentimental, honey-glazed land that vaguely resembles South Carolina in 1964. It would be wrong to say that the troubles of that time and place have been wished away — on the contrary, the movie begins with a scene of horrific domestic violence and includes child abuse, a racially motivated beating, suicide and the threat of a lynching — but from the opening voice-over to the final credits, every terror and sorrow is swaddled in warm, therapeutic comfort…
Now, don’t get lulled into love and happiness from the start of this review because the NY times article ends with a backhand that is worthy and debatable at the same time.
…In case they didn’t have enough problems of their own, August and her sisters also have Lily to deal with, and the film seems to struggle with an awkward and unstated tension. You can almost feel how badly it wants to be about the lives, not of bees, but of black women at a pivotal moment in the recent past.
Despite Ms. Prince-Bythewood’s best efforts to retain a sense of history, and Queen Latifah’s shrewd refusal to play her character according to stereotype, the film becomes a familiar and tired fable of black selflessness, in which African-Americans take time out from their struggle against oppression to lift the battered self-esteem of white people who have the good sense not to be snarling bigots. Even Ms. Fanning, weeping on cue and looking uncomfortable otherwise, seems a little abashed that the movie, in the end, has to be all about her.
Here’s also an excerpt of the review written in Black Voices…
After a long delay, Sue Monk Kidd’s bestseller, ‘The Secret Life Of Bees’ is finally a film– with an all-star cast to boot. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, and starring Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, and Tristan Wilds, the film is laced with dramatic and powerful performances. It’s certain to satisfy the fans of the book and newcomers to the story.
Set in South Carolina in 1964, the film is the moving tale of Lily Owens (Fanning) a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother (Hilary Burton). To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father (Paul Bettany), Lily flees with Rosaleen (Hudson), her caregiver and only friend. The duo travels to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother’s past. Rosaleen is also a fugitive, having fled from authorities after standing up for herself against white racists…
Have you seen the film? If so, how would you rate it? Do you agree with the NY Times assessment?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN9stKl8cYA]
I am in no way, shape, or form a football fan. That’s my husband’s job. 
I have him to thank for educating me about Ernie Davis during a trip we took back to Syracuse, New York last October (2007). The trip was in celebration of our 10 year wedding anniversary and included a visit to the place where we first met- the campus of Syracuse University. His undergraduate alma mater. My sophomore summer internship.
Of course, what’s a trip back to your ole stomping grounds without a visit to the bookstore? So that we did. So apropos was the walk down the stairs of the Student Center at Syracuse University. They had a mural of the early nineties and the birth of hip hop. We were literally walking back down Memory Lane.
In the bookstore, we looked at all the college gear, and I decided I wanted something, too. After all, the one of the many random things we have in common is that the school colors for both of our undergraduate and graduate universities are exactly the same- although we attended completely different schools.
Up pops this cute, feminine style, orange and blue football jersey with the number 44 on it. Naive me is just pointing out that here’s something cute for me to wear. My husband’s eyes, on the other hand, lit up with pride, insisting that I get that jersey. “You don’t know who that is?” he said to me. He then points up to a picture on the wall showing The Legend of the Number 44 which includes football greats such as Jim Brown and Ernie Davis. He continues, “That’s Ernie Davis, the first black Heisman trophy winner.” I bought it and wore it, still not doing the shirt justice.
The funny thing is, almost exactly one year later, I’m reading about the movie “The Express” which is the story of the famous first black Heisman trophy winner, number 44 from Syracuse University, Ernie Davis. Now I get it!
Below is an excerpt from an article in Howard University’s “The Hilltop Online” about the movie “The Express.” As I read it, I get an additional smile to see that his love interest, Helen Gott at the time…now Helen Gray, was just a sophomore and totally not interested in football when she and Ernie met. Awww, how can I NOT go see this movie when it comes out on October 10th!
What fitting tribute.
Jim Brown, Floyd Little and other Syracuse gridiron heroes made their way back to campus to celebrate the premiere of “The Express,” the movie depicting the too-short life of the Orangemen’s gifted running back Ernie Davis.
With Davis’ Kansas City area connections, a slice of the Heartland was there in spirit.
Davis’ story is truly amazing. He became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy and helped Syracuse capture a national championship.
But his life ended tragically. Davis died of leukemia in 1963 and never joined Brown on the field for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns in what could have been a history-altering backfield.
The movie, which opens nationally on Oct. 10, uses football to tell a story of a proud individual whose profile grew along with the civil-rights movement. Syracuse’s trips to West Virginia and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas provide the racially charged backdrop.
Davis was named MVP of the Cotton Bowl but wasn’t allowed to remain for the entire dinner banquet. The team left in protest. This is after the Orangemen were denied lodging in downtown Dallas because the hotel refused to accommodate black players.
As the movie trailer says, “In a time of change, one man had the courage to achieve the extraordinary.”
To those who knew him best, Davis was ideally suited to confront challenges on and off the field.
“People remember him as a super athlete, which he was,” said John Brown, Davis’ teammate at Syracuse and his roommate in Cleveland. “I remember him as a gentle person who touched many lives.”
Including that of Helen Gott, a Syracuse student who became Davis’ girlfriend. Today, she’s Helen Gray, The Kansas City Star’s religion editor.
They met during her sophomore year Davis was a year ahead in school and his football prowess wasn’t the attraction.
“He made an impression because he was different than what I thought of as a typical jock,” Gray said. “I thought of them as being arrogant and self-absorbed. Ernie was pretty self-effacing. He was a gentleman.”…
(excerpt from article- The First African American to Win Heisman Trophy Subject of New Big Screen Movie)
Read more on Ernie Davis (there is A LOT of info out there, this is just a taste)…
The Express movie website- http://www.theexpressmovie.com/site.html
Syracuse University Athletic Department page- The Legend of #44
TheHeismanWinners.com- Ernie Davis: 1961 Heisman Winner
RedCarpet.org- Nine Clips from The Express
USA Today- ‘Elmira Express’ Ernie Davis runs again in movie
What does Ernie Davis mean to you?
What does an African American winning such a coveted award in 1961 mean to you?
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