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
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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.
