BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2019 PROGRAM GUIDE - AMERICAN MASTERS: SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I'VE GOTTA BE ME Tuesday, February 19 9 p.m - WETA

BLACK HISTORY MONTH
2019 PROGRAM GUIDE

AMERICAN MASTERS: SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME
Tuesday, February 19 • 9 p.m.

This February, WETA Television celebrates Black History Month with special
programming that highlights the African-American experience. Schedule
subject to change; visit weta.org for complete listings and local resources.
All programs air on WETA TV 26/HD.
Friday, February 1 • 8:30 p.m.
WETA ARTS — This half-hour magazine-style local arts and culture series features a
variety of stories that showcase the arts scene in the Greater Washington area. This
month, segments include:
  JAMES REESE EUROPE AND THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS — Kennedy Center jazz
  director, Jason Moran, creates a multi-media exploration of the influence of musician
  James Reese Europe, a renowned bandleader and commander of an all-black unit
  that fought in World War I.
  GORDON PARKS IN THE CLASSROOM — Visionary photojournalist Gordon Parks
  documented the lives of black Americans for six decades. Now the National Gallery
  of Art is taking his work into local schools to teach what Parks called “the common
  search for a better life and a better world.”
  JUST OUT THE WINDOW — Local playwright Tom Minter uses photographs and
  videos of changing DC neighborhoods taken by high school students to inspire an
  operatic play premiering at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum.
  PICTURING JUSTICE — Rhea Combs, curator of film and photography at the National
  Museum of African American History and Culture, and Melani Douglass, director of
  public programs at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, show and discuss
  landmark photos from the pre-Civil War era to the Civil Rights Movement to counter
  stereotypes and create positive images of African American life.
  Repeats Sun 2/3, 6:30 p.m.; Tue 2/5, 3 p.m.; Fri 2/8, 1 p.m.; Mon 2/11, 1 p.m.;
  Wed 2/20, 2:30 p.m.; Sun 2/24, 5:30 p.m; Wed 2/27, 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 2 • 9:30 p.m.
WETA MOVIE: A SOLDIER’S STORY — In this film about racism in a segregated regiment
of the U.S. Army, a black officer is sent to investigate the murder of a black sergeant in
Louisiana near the end of World War II. Repeats Sun 2/3, 12:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 2 • 11:30 p.m.
BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK: AND STILL I RISE — OUT OF THE SHADOW/MOVE ON UP
— If the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. came back and asked what had happened in
the last half-century since his passing, what would you tell him? In part one of this four-
hour program, Harvard scholar and WETA partner Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., looks
at the last five decades of African American history since the major civil rights victories of
the 1960s.
Sunday, February 3 • 2:30 p.m.
INDEPENDENT LENS: TELL THEM WE ARE RISING: THE STORY OF BLACK COLLEGES
AND UNIVERSITIES — This film explores the pivotal role historically black colleges and
universities (HBCUs) have played over the course of 150 years in American history,
culture and identity. Stanley Nelson’s film reveals the power of HBCUs to transform lives
and advance civil rights and equality in the face of injustice.
Sunday, February 3 • 11 p.m.
AMERICAN MASTERS: MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE — Through interviews,
rare archival photographs, and her own words, learn about Maya Angelou’s incredible
journey from her upbringing in the Depression-era South to her many successes as an
author, poet and civil rights activist.
Monday, February 4 • 11 p.m.
INDEPENDENT LENS: BLACK MEMORABILIA — At the intersection of racial identity,
historical narrative and international commerce, this film follows the propagation of
demeaning representations of Americans - black memorabilia. From industrial China

to the rural South to Brooklyn, meet the people who reproduce, consume and reclaim
these racially charged objects.
Tuesday, February 5 • 1 p.m.
AFRICA’S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS — This six-hour documentary series, in two-parts, is
hosted by Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who chronicles the continent’s history
from a firmly African perspective. Episode 1. Origins. Journey with Gates to Kenya,
Egypt and beyond as he discovers the origins of man, the formation of early human
societies and the creation of significant cultural and scientific achievements on the
African continent. Episode 2. The Cross and the Crescent. Gates charts the ancient rise of
Christianity & Islam.
Tuesday, February 5 • 8 p.m.
FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 5 — In a new season
of this WETA co-production, join Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to uncover the
surprising ancestral stories of 25 cultural trailblazers. Episode 5. Freedom Tales. Gates
delves deep into the roots of two African-American guests, actor S. Epatha Merkerson
and athlete and television personality Michael Strahan. Both discover unexpected
stories that challenge assumptions about black history. Repeats Wed, 2/6, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, February 6 • 1 p.m.
AFRICA’S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS — This six-hour documentary series in two parts is
hosted by Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who chronicles the continent’s history
from a firmly African perspective. Episode 3. Empires of Gold. Gates uncovers the
complex trade networks and advanced educational institutions that transformed early
north and west Africa from deserted lands into the continent’s wealthiest kingdoms
and learning epicenters. Episode 4. Cities. Gates explores the power of Africa’s greatest
ancient cities whose wealth, art and industrious successes attracted new European
interest and interaction along the continent’s east and west coasts.

Wednesday, February 6 • 3 p.m.
AMERICAN MASTERS: FATS DOMINO — This biography series explores how the
musical artist’s style of New Orleans rhythm and blues became rock ‘n’ roll.
Repeats Wed 2/14, 3 p.m.
Wednesday, February 6 • 4 p.m.
AMERICAN MASTERS: B.B. KING: THE LIFE OF RILEY — This biography explores
the challenging life and career of B.B. King, the “King of the Blues,” through candid
interviews with the artist and his fellow music stars, including Bono, Bonnie Raitt, and
Carlos Santana. Repeats Tue 2/12, 1 p.m.; Fri 2/15, 2 p.m.
Thursday, February 7 • 1 p.m.
AFRICA’S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS — This six-hour documentary series in two parts is
hosted by Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who chronicles the continent’s history
from a firmly African perspective. Episode 5. The Atlantic Age. Gates explores the impact
of the Atlantic trading world on giving rise to powerful new kingdoms and promoting
the transatlantic slave trade. Episode 6. Commerce and the Clash of Civilizations. Learn
more about the 19th century “Scramble for Africa,” as Gates examines the extent of
European interference from the expansion of the slave trade to the destructive Belgian
Congo Free State.
Thursday, February 7 • 3 p.m.
JOHN LEWIS: GET IN THE WAY — Whether advancing civil rights in the 1960s or leading
a sit-in for gun control in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016, Congressman Lewis
stands up against injustice wherever he finds it. Repeats Fri 2/15, 1 p.m.
Friday, February 8 • 1:30 p.m.
SMOKEY ROBINSON: THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS GERSHWIN PRIZE FOR
POPULAR SONG — Get your toes tappin’ and your memories ignited during this
celebration of singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson, winner of the 2016 Gershwin
Prize for Popular Song.

Friday, February 8 • 9:30 p.m.
LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: PIPELINE — Nya is an inner-city high school teacher
who deals with the realities of righteous rage, family dynamics and the pitfalls of an
education system divided into public and private.
Saturday, February 9 • 10 p.m.
TO SIR WITH LOVE — Follow an idealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in
teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of
London’s East End. Repeats Sun 2/10, 12 p.m.
Sunday, February 10 • 12 a.m.
BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK: AND STILL I RISE – KEEP YOUR HEAD UP/TOUCH
THE SKY – Part two continues to explore the tremendous gains and persistent
challenges of the post-civil rights years, examining major events and turning points
in American race relations.
Sunday, February 10 • 2:30 p.m.
AMERICAN MASTERS: AUGUST WILSON: THE GROUND ON WHICH I STAND — Meet
August Wilson, “America’s Shakespeare,” from his roots as an activist and poet to his
indelible mark on Broadway. This biography chronicles Wilson’s triumphs and struggles
along the path to such works as the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fences and The Piano Lesson.
Repeats Wed 2/13, 1 p.m.
Sunday, February 10 • 11 p.m.
INDEPENDENT LENS: THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION —
Film director Stanley Nelson revisits the turbulent 1960s, when a new revolutionary
culture emerged with the Black Panther Party at the vanguard.

Monday, February 11 • 11 p.m.
INDEPENDENT LENS: HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING — Visit the world
of Hale County, Alabama. Composed of intimate and unencumbered moments in the
lives of people in the community, this film offers a richly detailed glimpse at life in
America’s Black Belt.
Tuesday, February 12 • 3 p.m.
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: CELEBRATING BLACK AMERICANA — Antiques Roadshow is
honoring Black History Month with the special episode Celebrating Black Americana.
Sunday, February 17 • 12 a.m.
AN EVENING WITH KEN CHENAULT — A one-on-one interview provides a rare inside look
into the life and career of Ken Chenault, former CEO of American Express.
Sunday, February 17 • 11 p.m.
POV: QUEST — In a moving portrait of a family from North Philadelphia, Christopher
“Quest” Rainey and his wife, Christine’a “Ma Quest,” raise a family while nurturing a
community of hip-hop artists in their basement studio.
Tuesday, February 19 • 9 p.m.
AMERICIAN MASTERS: SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME — Learn more about
the life and career of legendary Rat Pack member, Sammy Davis, Jr. and his journey for
identity through the Civil Rights Movement and racial tensions in 20th century America.
Repeats Wed 2/20, 3 p.m.; Thur 2/21, 1 p.m.; Wed 2/27, 1 p.m.
Friday, February 22 • 9:30 p.m.
INDEPENDENT LENS: I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO — This film envisions the book James
Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in
America, using Baldwin’s original words, spoken by Samuel L. Jackson. I Am Not Your
Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the civil rights movement
to the present of #BlackLivesMatter.

Sunday, February 24 • 1 a.m.
THE TALK: RACE IN AMERICA — In the wake of recent tragic and fatal events between
men of color and law enforcement, learn how black and Hispanic families counsel their
kids to stay safe if they are stopped by the police.
Tuesday, February 26 • 9 p.m.
ROADS TO MEMPHIS: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE — Witness the entwined stories of
assassin James Earl Ray and his target, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., against the backdrop
of the seething and turbulent forces in American society that led these two men to their
violent and tragic collision in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.
Repeats Wed 2/27, 4 p.m.

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JAMES REESE EUROPE AND THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS, courtesy National Archives; A SOLDIER’S STORY,
courtesy American Public Television; AMERICAN MASTERS: MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE, courtesy OWN;
BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK: AND STILL I RISE, courtesy AP Photo/Charles Dharapak; INDEPENDENT LENS: TELL
THEM WE ARE RISING: THE STORY OF BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, courtesy Morgan State University;
INDEPENDENT LENS: BLACK MEMORABILIA, courtesy C-Line Films; AFRICA’S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS, courtesy
McGee Media; AMERICAN MASTERS: FATS DOMINO, courtesy Getty Images; AMERICAN MASTERS: B.B. KING:
The LIFE OF RILEY, courtesy Kevin Nixon; JOHN LEWIS: GET IN THE WAY, courtesy Early Light Productions; LIVE
FROM LINCOLN CENTER: PIPELINE, courtesy Jeremy Daniel; TO SIR WITH LOVE, courtesy American Public
Television; AMERICAN MASTERS: AUGUST WILSON: THE GROUND ON WHICH I STAND, courtesy Chris Bennion;
BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK: AND STILL I RISE, courtesy AP Photo/Jack Thomell; COVER: AMERICAN MASTERS:
SAMMY DAVIS, JR.:I’VE GOTTA BE ME, courtesy Photographed by Milton H. Greene ©Joshua Greene.