ITVS Celebrates Black History Month

Nine-year-old Pricilla from P-Star Rising, airing Feb. 9 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS.

Mine, premiering Feb. 16 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS.

ITVS and PBS offers viewers the opportunity to explore the rich and vibrant history and cultural contributions of African Americans throughout the year, but this month offers a special slate of new and encore programs in honor of Black History Month.

Independent Lens brings race to the forefront with four new films in February. Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness, debuting Feb. 2, explores the often-overlooked legacy of Jewish anthropologist Melville Herskovits, whose ideas in the 40s and 50s challenged the accepted assumptions about race and culture. Then, tune in on Feb. 9 for P-Star Rising, which looks at nine-year-old Pricilla who wants to be the youngest female rap star ever and her single father who is determined to help her make it big. This film also closes out the special line-up of compelling films as part of Independent Lens’s Music Month.

A third film, Mine, premiering Feb. 16, tells the poignant and powerful story of animals left behind during Katrina, and of the struggles of hurricane victims to reunite with their beloved pets. Finally, Behind the Rainbow, airing Feb. 23, unearths once-hidden realities of South Africa’s political obstacles on the path to democracy.

Other ITVS films airing this month on PBS include: February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four, which looks at the pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement when four college students staged a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960, and Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968, which investigates the continued cover-up of the tragedy of 1968 on the campus of South Carolina State University and follows ongoing efforts to seek justice.

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Thousands of hours of PBS programming are available on the PBS Video Portal, including a special collection for Black History Month.

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Watch these video clips of upcoming new Independent Lens programs (check local listings):

Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness, Feb. 2 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS

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Tags: Africa, African American, Black History Month, civil rights, Hurricane Katrina, Jewish, music, rap

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – At the Heart of American Civil Rights

“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a sword that heals. [It] cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

At the heart of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s was the use of nonviolent direct-action protest. Inspired by the example of Jesus, and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi during India’s struggle for independence, black church and community leaders in the United States began advocating the use of non-violence in their own struggle. Beyond spontaneous and planned student sit-ins, several organizations were formed to fight for civil rights using Gandhi’s model of nonviolent dissent and action. Three of the most influential groups—the Congress of Racial Equality, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee—were pivotal in bringing about social change in America.
Read more about the life of King, Jr. on the Independent Lens website >>
Check out the PBS Indies page on iTunes where you’ll find these powerful films about the African American civil rights movement

Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Green

The unlikely story of America’s original shock-jock — Petey Greene — who battled the system and his own demons during a time of civil unrest in the nation’s capital.


Banished

From the 1860s to the 1920s, towns across the U.S. violently expelled African American residents. Today, these communities remain virtually all white. As black descendants return to demand justice, Banished exposes the hidden history of racial cleansing in America.
Each film is now available for rent for $2.99 or for purchase at $9.99.

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Tags: civil rights, martin luther king, nonviolent, protest