Winnie Mandela - INDEPENDENT LENS Winnie, Courtesy of Paul Weinberg/South Photos/Africa Media Online; James Baldwin in the crowd. March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963, Washington, Courtesy of Dan Budnik - All Rights Reserved; Lorraine Hansberry - AMERICAN MASTERS Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart, Courtesy of David Attie.
PBS Honors Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Recognizes 50th Anniversary of King's Assassination with Programs Spanning January - April
New Documentaries From AMERICAN MASTERS and INDEPENDENT LENS
PBS Offers More Than 50 Documentaries and Specials for Viewers to Stream Online Through the PBS Black Culture Connection (BCC)
ARLINGTON, VA; January 12, 2018 - To honor the legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and observe Black History Month, and as part of its commitment to celebrate the diversity of America all year long, PBS offers documentaries and specials that explore the richness and complexity of the African American experience through on-air content on PBS member stations and online through the PBS Black Culture Connection. Watch a clip.
PBS will commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and recognize the 50th anniversary of King's assassination with programs that celebrate Dr. King's legacy, including the Academy Award-nominated I Am Not Your Negro from INDEPENDENT LENS (Monday, January 15). The film examines the lives and successive assassinations of three of James Baldwin's close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Other programs airing around Dr. King's birthday and in honor of Black History Month include AMERICAN MASTERS Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart, which explores the life of the playwright and activist who wrote A Raisin in the Sun (Friday, January 19), INDEPENDENT LENS Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities, an examination of the role of historically black colleges and universities (Monday, February 19), INDEPENDENT LENS Winnie, a profile of the wife of Nelson Mandela (Monday, February 5), and an encore broadcast of AMERICAN MASTERS Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, a biography of the activist, poet and author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Friday, February 16). In April - the anniversary month of Dr. King's assassination - PBS presents encore broadcasts of Henry Louis Gates' BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK: AND STILL I RISE (Tuesday and Wednesday, April 3 and 4) and AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Roads to Memphis (Wednesday, April 4).
In addition to on-air programs, the PBS Black Culture Connection (BCC), an extension of PBS.org, features films that reflect the black experience, stories and discussion across PBS, and provides audiences with a catalogue of more than 50 programs available for streaming. Most PBS programs are available for streaming following their broadcast via the PBS apps for iOS and Android devices and via station-branded digital platforms, including Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast.
Classroom Resources Celebrating Black History
PBS LearningMedia - PBS' online destination for educators and students - offers a range of curriculum-targeted resources that support lessons on black history and spotlight the leaders, thinkers, and innovators that helped shape our nation's history. Through lesson plans, videos, discussion questions, and digitized primary sources, PBS LearningMedia helps teachers to inspire curiosity in their classrooms and strengthen students' personal connection to black history and culture. Featured resources illuminate the lives of figures like Harriet Tubman, Jesse Owens, and Rosa Parks and delve into key themes relevant to the Civil Rights Movement. PBS LearningMedia also offers related resources from recent PBS programs like SOUNDBREAKING, BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK: AND STILL I RISE, MERCY STREET and AFRICA'S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS.
As a special feature for Black History Month, PBS and ITVS have partnered to deliver a free 3-part film and conversation series for classrooms, More Than A Month. Students and teachers that participate in the virtual events will have a chance to hear from a range of notable film producers and directors, preview segments from their latest films, and pose questions in real-time. More information about this series is available on the PBS Teachers' Blog.
Programs airing in commemoration of Dr. King and timed to Black History Month include:
INDEPENDENT LENS I Am Not Your Negro
Monday, January 15, 9-10:30 p.m. ET
Watch a film that envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, a revolutionary and personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.
AMERICAN MASTERS Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart
Friday, January 19, 9-11 p.m. ET
Explore the life and work of the A Raisin in the Sun playwright and activist who played a significant role in the civil rights movement. LaTanya Richardson Jackson narrates. Anika Noni Rose is the voice of Lorraine Hansberry.
GREAT PERFORMANCES Nas Live From the Kennedy Center: Classical Hip-Hop
Friday, February 2, 9-10 p.m. ET
Witness the groundbreaking hip-hop artist perform a symphonic rendition of his seminal debut album Illmatic with the National Symphony Orchestra. Nas paints a densely textured lyrical portrait of life in a New York City public housing project.
INDEPENDENT LENS Winnie
Monday, February 5, 10-11:30 p.m. ET
Explore the life of Winnie Mandela and her struggle to bring down apartheid, with intimate insights from those closest to her and testimony from the enemies who sought to extinguish her radical capacity to shake up the order of things.
INDEPENDENT LENS Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities
Monday, February 19, 9-1
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
15/06/2026
Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...
14/06/2026
Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound
Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
Winnie Mandela - INDEPENDENT LENS Winnie, Courtesy of Paul Weinberg/South Photos/Africa Media Online; James Baldwin in the crowd. March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963, Washington, Courtesy of Dan Budnik - All Rights Reserved; Lorraine Hansberry - AMERICAN MASTERS Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart, Courtesy of David Attie.
