Join Rhode Island PBS for a special Black History Month collection, featuring new and encore programs that promote education, solidarity, justice, and change. Be on the lookout for these episodes, series, and films throughout the month of February.
WSBE HDTV 36.1
Rhode Island PBS Weekly - February 3 at 7 p.m. and February 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Rhode Island has a robust and compelling history as an early leader in freethinking, revolution, and collaboration. But, as this segment of Rhode Island PBS Weekly reports, the Ocean State’s ties to the slave trade, as well as the stories of those who overcame slavery, are too often overlooked.
The Long Shadow - February 6 at 3 p.m.
Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Frances Causey traces the history of slave ownership in her family, placing her findings in the broader context of racism in America. This documentary sheds light on the socioeconomic factors that established a culture of white privilege in the United States, and how the repercussions of slavery and segregation continue to affect the present day.
Antiques Roadshow: Celebrating Black Americana - February 7 at 8 p.m.
Antiques Roadshow honors black history with a special tribute episode. Highlights include an 1821 U.S. citizenship certificate for George Barker, a free man of color, and an African American beauty book written by Madam C.J. Walker, the first American female millionaire.
Amen! Music of the Black Church - February 11 at 9 p.m. and February 22 at 10 p.m.
Rev. Dr. Raymond Wise leads the Indiana University African American Choral Ensemble in this uplifting one-hour performance. Taped at the Second Baptist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, the film delivers an authentic spiritual experience with sacred gospel music and traditional African songs.
400 Years: Taking the Knee - February 18 at 9 p.m.
BBC’s Dotun Adebayo narrates several noteworthy accounts of black resilience in the face of oppression. This two-part documentary journeys back in history, celebrating the individuals who fought against colonialism, slavery, and their legacies.
WSBE Learn 36.2
Africa’s Great Civilization - Episode 1 and 2 air back-to-back February 2 starting at 3:00 p.m., Episode 3 and 4 airback-to-back February 3 startingat 3:00 p.m., and Episode 5 and 6 air back-to-back February 4 starting at 3:00 p.m.
Hosted by acclaimed literary critic and historian Henry Louis Gates Jr., this six-hour series investigates the history of Africa. From the birth of humankind to the dawn of the twentieth century, embark on 200,000 years' worth of history on the African continent, including art, writing, and civilization itself.
American Masters: Sammy Davis Jr. - February 5 at 3 p.m.
In the first major documentary about Sammy Davis Jr., learn more about the performer’s vast career and his search for identity amid the tides of the civil rights movement and racial progress of twentieth-century America.
Reconstruction: America After the Civil War - Part 1 airs February 8 at 3 p.m. and Part 2 airs February 10 at 3 p.m.
Explore the transformative years that followed the American Civil War in this vital four-hour documentary. Guided by interviews with historians and authors, the documentary looks at the art, music, literature, and political activism that led to the rise of civil rights organizations.
In Their Own Words: Muhammad Ali- February 9 at 3 p.m.
In this biography series, follow the life of Muhammad Ali and his rise from the Columbia Gym in Louisville, Alabama to international fame. Focused moments in this biography include Ali’s conversion to Islam, his stand against the Vietnam draft, his three-year exile from the ring, his legendary comeback fights, his battle with Parkinson’s disease, and his inspirational re-emergence on the world stage at the Atlanta Olympics.
John Lewis: Get in the Way - February 9 at 4 p.m.
Follow the life and legacy of late civil rights hero, congressman, and human rights champion John Lewis. In this first-ever biographical documentary about Lewis, hear personal and gripping tales from his experience in history-defining moments, as well as never-before-seen interviews shot over 20 years.
Boss: The Black Experience in Business - February 11 at 3 p.m.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson, this two-hour documentary explores the lives of African American entrepreneurs over the past 150 years. From those in bondage to moguls at the top of million-dollar empires, Boss: The Black Experience in Business shines a light on the resilience of black-owned businesses even when faced with racial hostility, violence, economic exclusion, segregation, and discrimination.
TheTalk: Race in America - February 12 at 3 p.m.
In this two-hour documentary, hear the increasingly common conversations that are taking place in homes and communities across America between parents of color and their children, especially their sons, about how to behave if they are ever to be stopped by the police.
American Experience: Freedom Riders - February 15 at 3 p.m.
In 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans endured savage beatings and imprisonments for traveling together on buses and trains that journeyed through the Deep South. In this two-hour documentary, hear from those who were called "Freedom Riders," as well as government officials and journalists who witnessed their Rides firsthand, as they tell the story of challenging a segregated interstate travel system.
American Experience: Freedom Summer - February 16 at 3 p.m.
Learn about the Freedom Summer, or the Mississippi Summer Project - a ten-week-long voter registration drive in 1964 that focused on increasing the number of registered African American voters and forced the media to take notice of the shocking violence, voter discrimination, and massive injustice taking place in Mississippi.
Frontline: Policing the Police- February 18 at 3 p.m.
Frontline focuses on the Newark Police Department - one of many troubled forces ordered to reform. Step into their investigation with writer and historian Jelani Cobb, as they examine the allegations of police brutality and the challenge of fixing broken relationships between the department and the community.
American Master: Lorraine Hansberry - February 19 at 3 p.m.
Narrated by actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson, this documentary explores the life and work of Lorraine Hansberry - an accomplished activist, playwright, author of A Raisin in the Sun, and the first African-American woman to have a play performed on Broadway.
WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits over the air in high definition on digital 36.1; Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, and Full Channel 08; Comcast 819HD and Verizon FiOS 18 / 518HD in MA; DirecTV 36, Dish Network 36.
WSBE Learn transmits over the air on digital 36.2; Cox 808; Verizon FiOS 478; Full Channel 989; and Comcast 294 or 312.
