Sunday, February 10 at 3:00 p.m.
Looking for Lincoln
LOOKING FOR LINCOLN dissects the myths that have grown up around Abraham Lincoln. In doing so, the program addresses outstanding questions — about race, equality, religion and depression — by carefully interpreting the evidence provided by people who actually knew him. Henry Louis Gates Jr. hosts. Go here to see a preview.
Wednesday, February 13 at 11:00 p.m.
Black in Latin America
Cuba: The Next Revolution
In Cuba, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. finds out how the culture, religion, politics and music of this island are inextricably linked to the huge numbers of slaves imported to produce its enormously profitable 19th-century sugar industry, and how race and racism have fared since Fidel Castro’s Communist revolution in 1959. Go here to see an excerpt.
Monday, February 16 at 11:00 p.m.
Independent Lens
The Power Broker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights
Whitney M. Young, Jr. was one of the most celebrated — and controversial —leaders of the civil rights era. In “The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights,” follow his journey from segregated Kentucky to head of the National Urban League. Unique among black leaders, Young took the fight directly to the powerful white elite, gaining allies along the wayt, including three presidents. He had the difficult tasks of calming the fears of white allies, relieving the doubts of fellow civil rights leaders and responding to attacks from the militant Black Power movement. Go here to see a preview.
Wednesday, February 20 at 11:00 p.m.
Black in Latin America
Brazil: A Racial Paradise
In Brazil, Professor Gates goes behind the façade of Carnaval to discover how this “rainbow nation” is waking up to its legacy as the world’s largest slave economy.
Go here to see the full video.
Friday, February 22 at 9:00 p.m.
American Masters
Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock and Roll
Discover the life, music and influence of African-American gospel singer and guitar virtuoso Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973). Southern-born, Chicago-raised and New York-made, “She could play the guitar like nobody else … nobody.” During the 1940s-60s, Sister Rosetta introduced the spiritual passion of her gospel music into the secular world of rock ’n’ roll, inspiring the male icons of the genre. The flamboyant superstar, with her spectacular playing on the newly electrified guitar, had a major influence on black musicians, including Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash.
Friday, February 22 at 10:00 p.m.
American Masters
Cab Calloway Sketches
“Minnie the Moocher,” with its popular refrain “Hi de hi de hi de ho,” was Cab Calloway’s signature song, and Harlem’s famous Cotton Club was his home stage. A singer, dancer and band leader, he was an exceptional figure in the history of jazz: a consummate musician, he charmed audiences around the world with boundless energy, bravado and elegant showmanship. His back glide dance step is the precursor to Michael Jackson’s moonwalk, and his scatting lyrics find their legacy in today’s hip-hop and rap. See the preview here.
Sunday, February 24 at 4:00 p.m.
American Experience
Freedom Riders
In 1961, segregation seemed to have an overwhelming grip on American society. Many states violently enforced the policy, while the federal government, under the Kennedy administration, remained indifferent, preoccupied with matters abroad. That is, until an integrated band of college students decided, en masse, to risk everything and buy a ticket on a Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. They managed to bring the president and the entire American public face-to-face with the challenge of correcting civil-rights inequities that plagued the nation. See the preview here.
Wednesday, February 27 at 11:00 p.m.
Black in Latin America
Mexico & Peru: The Black Grandma in the Closet
In Mexico and Peru, Professor Gates explores the almost unknown history of the significant numbers of black people — the two countries together received far more slaves than did the United States — brought to these countries as early as the 16th and 17th centuries, and the worlds of culture that their descendants have created in Vera Cruz on the Gulf of Mexico, the Costa Chica region on the Pacific and in and around Lima, Peru.
See the full video here.
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