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Black History Month Programming

See the full schedule

American Experience - Voice of Freedom

The Kate – Black Violin

Independent Lens – The First Rainbow Coalition

The Long Song on Masterpiece 

The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song

Independent Lens – Mr. SOUL! 

Jazz

Josephine Baker: The Story of an Awakening 

Jazz Ambassadors

Independent Lens – Decade of Fire

American Experience – Goin’ Back to T-Town

Finding Your Roots – Write My Name in the Book of Life 

CUTLINE – Everyday White Supremacy

American Masters - Charley Pride: I’m Just Me

American Experience – The Murder of Emmett Till

Independent Lens - Always in Season

*Red Indicates a Connecticut Public Original

CPTV

Sundays, January 31-Feburary 14 at 10 p.m.
The Long Song on Masterpiece (Premiere)
Expand

This three-part miniseries based on Andrea Levy’s award-winning novel about the end of slavery in Jamaica follows July (Tamara Lawrance, King Charles III), an indomitable, young slave who works on a sugarcane plantation with her detestable mistress, Caroline Mortimer (Hayley Atwell, The Avengers). Their lives change with the arrival of the charming new overseer, Robert Goodwin (Jack Lowden, Dunkirk) who sets out to improve the plantation for both the slaves and the mistress.

Monday, February 1 at 9 p.m.
Antiques Roadshow - Celebrating Black Americana
Expand

Encores on CPTV Sunday, February 7 at 7 p.m.
Antiques Roadshow honors Black History Month with this special 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.

Monday, February 1 at 10 p.m.
Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story
Expand

Nicknamed "Architect to the Stars," African American architect Paul R. Williams had a life story that could have been dreamed up by a Hollywood screenwriter. From the early 1920s until his retirement 50 years later, Williams was one of the most successful architects in the country. But at the height of his career Williams wasn't always welcome in the restaurants and hotels he designed or the neighborhoods where he built homes, because of his race. Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story explains how he used talent, determination and even charm to defy the odds and create a body of work that can be found from coast to coast.

Tuesday, February 2 at 11 p.m.
Independent Lens – Decade of Fire
Expand

Discover why the Bronx burned in the 1970s. Through rich archival and home movie footage, the film reveals the real reasons for the devastation and shows what can happen when a community chooses to fight back and reclaim their neighborhood.

Monday, February 8 at 9 p.m.
American Experience – Goin’ Back to T-Town (Premiere)
Expand

Hear the extraordinary history of Greenwood, a successful Black community in segregated Tulsa. In a nostalgic celebration of old-fashioned neighborhood life, Black residents of "T-Town" relive their community's remarkable rise and ultimate decline

Monday, February 8 at 10 p.m.
American Masters - Charley Pride: I’m Just Me
Expand

Explore the complicated history of the American South and its music through the life of country star Charley Pride. Raised in segregated Mississippi, his journey shows the ways that artistic expression can triumph over prejudice and injustice.

Tuesday, February 9 at 9 p.m.
American Experience – The Murder of Emmett Till
Expand

Learn the true story behind the brutal murder of a 14-year-old African American boy by two white men in Mississippi in 1955. The film uncovered new eyewitnesses to the crime and helped prompt the U.S. Department of Justice to reopen the case.

Tuesday, February 9 at 11 p.m.
Independent Lens – The First Rainbow Coalition
Expand

In 1969, the Chicago Black Panther Party began to form alliances across lines of race and ethnicity with other community-based movements in the city, including the Latino group the Young Lords Organization and the southern whites of the Young Patriots organization. Banding together in one of the most segregated cities in postwar America to collectively confront issues such as police brutality and substandard housing, they called themselves the Rainbow Coalition. By 1973, the coalition had collapsed under the weight of relentless harassment by local and federal law enforcement. Although short-lived, it had an outsize impact: Breaking down barriers between communities, it created a permanent shift in Chicago politics and an organizing model for future activists and politicians across the nation.

Saturday, February 13 at 8 p.m.
Josephine Baker: The Story of an Awakening (Premiere)
Expand

Encores on CPTV Monday, February 15 at 11 p.m.
Follow the amazing story of the first black superstar. Baker, born into poverty in Missouri in 1906, moved to France where she became a dancer hailed as the Queen of Paris; joined the French Resistance; created her dream family, "The Rainbow Tribe," adopting 12 children from four corners of the world; and ultimately became a civil rights activist.

Monday, February 15 at 9 p.m.
American Experience – Voice of Freedom (Premiere)
Expand

Explore the fascinating life of celebrated singer Marian Anderson. In 1939, after being barred from performing at Constitution Hall because she was Black, she triumphed at the Lincoln Memorial in what became a landmark moment in American history.

Tuesday, February 16 at 8 p.m.
Finding Your Roots – Write My Name in the Book of Life (Premiere)
Expand

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps musician Pharrell Williams and filmmaker Kasi Lemmons uncover extraordinarily rare first-person accounts of their enslaved ancestors.

Tuesday, February 16 & Wednesday, February 17 at 9 p.m.
The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song (Premiere)
Expand

Retrace the 400-year-old-story of the Black church in America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., exploring its role as the site of African American organizing, resilience, autonomy, freedom and solidarity. Participants include gospel legend Yolanda Adams, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of The Episcopal Church, singers Jennifer Hudson and John Legend, Rev. Al Sharpton, scholar Cornel West and Oprah Winfrey.

Click for more series details

Tuesday, February 16 at 11 p.m.
Jazz Ambassadors
Expand

Discover how the Cold War and Civil Rights movement collided when America asked Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman to travel as cultural ambassadors and combat racially charged Soviet propaganda through their music.

Thursday, February 18 at 8 p.m.
CUTLINE – Everyday White Supremacy (Premiere)
Expand

Encores on CPTV Sunday, February 21 at 10 a.m. and Tuesday, February 23 at 11 p.m., and on CPTV Spirit Sunday, February 21 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, February 27 at 1 p.m.

Is white supremancy AN issue in our state or THE issue?

In January, Joseph Biden became the first President of the United States to expressly mention “white supremacy” in his inaugural address as a primary problem America must face. And it’s no wonder — not after the racial reckoning that exploded onto the streets of America — including Connecticut — in 2020.

In light of this critical moment in our history, Connecticut Public has produced an hour-long program called Cutline: Everyday White Supremacy. Why “everyday”? That’s because it seems fairly common to think of “white supremacy” in terms of the type of white-hooded or Swastika’d thuggery that we see “every now and then.” But racist jokes, systematic racism, and racist language coded to sound less threatening — these things are much more “everyday” than “every-now-and-then.”

As these two forms of white supremacy are interconnected, host John Henry Smith will discuss them both with a diverse group of voices who can speak about conditions and experiences both here in Connecticut and around the country. Join us for Cutline: Everyday White Supremacy. The discussions won’t be comfortable, but they will make you think.

More at content.ctpublic.org/cutline>>

Monday, February 22 at 10 p.m.
Independent Lens – Mr. SOUL! (Premiere)
Expand

During the civil rights movement, one African-American pioneer ushered giants and rising stars of Black culture onto public television. In 1968 Ellis Haizlip created the groundbreaking PBS series SOUL!, which became one of the most culturally significant television shows in U.S. history. Mr. SOUL!delves into this critical moment in television history, as well as the man who guided it, through participants’ recollections and archival footage, highlighting a turning point in representation that continues to resonate to this day.

Monday, February 22 at 11:30 p.m.
Craftsman's Legacy - The Quilter
Expand

Theadra Fleming hands over the needle and thread to host Eric Gorges as this quilter explains the African American tradition of quilting with a focus on colors, symbolism and the history of African textiles.

Friday, February 26 at 10:30 p.m.
The Kate – Black Violin
Expand

The gifted duo skillfully and daringly combines classical with hip-hop - and tantalizes fans of both genres. Think Bach's Brandenburg Concerto meets Biggie. Wil B and Kev Marcus play pieces by Aaron Copeland, J. S. Bach, Imagine Dragons and their own powerful compositions. In their interview, Wil and Kev speak about their mission to break stereotypes.

CPTV Spirit

Wednesdays, February 3-24 at 8 p.m.
Jazz
Expand

Filmmaker Ken Burns tells the story of jazz — the quintessential American art form. The 10-part series follows the growth and development of jazz music from the gritty streets of New Orleans to the Lincoln Gardens on Chicago's south side, where Louis Armstrong first won fame, from Prohibition-era speakeasies to the wide-open clubs of Kansas City, from the elegant Roseland Ballroom in Times Square, where only whites were allowed to dance, to the more egalitarian Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, where people of all colors mingled.

Wednesday, February 3 at 9:30 p.m.
Jazz Ambassadors
Expand

Discover how the Cold War and Civil Rights movement collided when America asked Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman to travel as cultural ambassadors and combat racially charged Soviet propaganda through their music.

Wednesday, February 10 at 10 p.m.
Independent Lens - Women in Blue
Expand

With the national conversation around police reform still resonating loudly around the country, Women in Blue shines a spotlight on the women within the Minneapolis Police Department working to reform it from the inside by fighting for gender equity. Filmed from 2017 to 2020, the documentary focuses on MPD’s first female and openly gay police chief, Janée Harteau, and three of the women in her department as they each try to redefine what it means to protect and serve.

Saturdays, February 13-27 at 9 p.m.
The Long Song on Masterpiece
Expand

This three-part miniseries based on Andrea Levy’s award-winning novel about the end of slavery in Jamaica follows July (Tamara Lawrance, King Charles III), an indomitable, young slave who works on a sugarcane plantation with her detestable mistress, Caroline Mortimer (Hayley Atwell, The Avengers). Their lives change with the arrival of the charming new overseer, Robert Goodwin (Jack Lowden, Dunkirk) who sets out to improve the plantation for both the slaves and the mistress.

Wednesday, February 17 at 10 p.m.
Independent Lens – Always in Season
Expand

In 2014, African American teenager Lennon Lacy was found hanging from a swing set. His mother believes he was lynched. Stark inconsistencies and few answers from officials drive her to lead efforts in what has become an ongoing fight for the truth.

Friday, February 19 at 8 p.m.
American Masters - Charley Pride: I’m Just Me
Expand

Explore the complicated history of the American South and its music through the life of country star Charley Pride. Raised in segregated Mississippi, his journey shows the ways that artistic expression can triumph over prejudice and injustice.

Wednesday, February 24 at 10 p.m.
American Experience – The Murder of Emmett Till
Expand

Learn the true story behind the brutal murder of a 14-year-old African American boy by two white men in Mississippi in 1955. The film uncovered new eyewitnesses to the crime and helped prompt the U.S. Department of Justice to reopen the case.

Friday, February 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Independent Lens – Mr. SOUL!
Expand

During the civil rights movement, one African-American pioneer ushered giants and rising stars of Black culture onto public television. In 1968 Ellis Haizlip created the groundbreaking PBS series SOUL!, which became one of the most culturally significant television shows in U.S. history. Mr. SOUL!delves into this critical moment in television history, as well as the man who guided it, through participants’ recollections and archival footage, highlighting a turning point in representation that continues to resonate to this day.

Connecticut Public Radio

Wednesday, February 3 at 2 p.m.
Disrupted - Melissa Harris-Perry
Expand

Disrupted presents an hour with professor, writer, and media professional Melissa Harris-Perry.

Thursday, February 4 at 3 p.m.
Seasoned - Hawa Hassan
Expand

Seasoned features Hawa Hassan, author of In Bibi's Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries that Touch the Indian Ocean.

Friday, February 5 at 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Where We Live - Jill Snyder
Expand

Jill Snyder talks to Where We Live about her family history.

President's Day, Monday, February 15
Special Holiday Programming
Expand

Special programs include:

9 a.m. - The Invention of Race
This one-hour historical documentary tells the story of the construction of race, and racism, as we live with them today.

1 p.m. - Witness: Black History Month 
This special hour-long edition of Witness History from the BBC World Service brings together some incredible interviews looking at the African-American experience. Told by people who were there, we hear stories that are fascinating, harrowing, and inspiring.  Segments include: NASA’s pioneering Black women, when Nelson Mandela went to Detroit, African Americans and the “Three Strikes Law,” the last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade, and Ann Lowe – African American fashion designer.

Wednesday, February 17 at 2 p.m.
Disrupted - Celebrating HBCUs
Expand

Disrupted takes a look at the impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and what role they’ll have in the future.

Thursday, February 18 at 3 p.m.
Seasoned - Marcus Samuelsson Shines a Light on Black Excellence in the Food World
Expand

Acclaimed chef and TV star Marcus Samuelsson joins Seasoned to talk about his latest book, The Rise.

Curious Q & A

Poll from Civic Science. Find out more»

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