Southern California PBS Stations Celebrate Black History Month With 'Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World' Along with Robust Lineup of Content on PBS SoCal and KCET Featuring 18 New Program Premieres
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Chelsea Grosbeck
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kcet.org/BlackHistoryMonth and pbssocal.org/BlackHistoryMonth
Select programming will also be available to stream on PBS.org and the free PBS App. Members of PBS SoCal | KCET get extended access through PBS Passport.
Los Angeles, Calif. – Jan. 18, 2023 – PBS SoCal and KCET, Southern California’s flagship PBS stations as well as the home for award-winning, original local content, announced today a robust programming slate in February highlighting Black History Month content. Reinforcing both KCET and PBS SoCal’s commitment to telling diverse stories, both stations will showcase 18 all-new program debuts kicking off the month with the January 31 premiere of the tentpole docuseries FIGHT THE POWER: HOW HIP HOP CHANGED THE WORLD. The PBS stations will also highlight new digital content in collaboration with PBS Digital Studios and a MAKING BLACK AMERICA community engagement event.
The free event on Sat., Feb. 25 from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. at Expo Arts Center (4321 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807) in partnership with the African American Cultural Center of Long Beach and non-commercial, regional public radio station KJAZZ (88.1 KKJZ) will feature clips from the recent PBS Henry Louis Gates, Jr. series MAKING BLACK AMERICA. The event will feature food from local vendors and performances from local organizations, including local dance nonprofit LA Swing Dance Posse. To learn more information about attending the event, please go to kcet.org/BlackHistoryMonth and pbssocal.org/BlackHistoryMonth.
Headlining February’s month-long commemoration to Black History Month is the highly anticipated FIGHT THE POWER: HOW HIP HOP CHANGED THE WORLD. In partnership with BBC Music and developed by Grammy® winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Chuck D, the four-part docuseries recounts the origins of hip hop through the voices of those who were there at the beginning. The series explores how the genre became a cultural phenomenon against the backdrop of American history weaving together intimate interviews and archival footage featuring some of rap’s most integral players including Chuck D, Run DMC, will.i.am, Fat Joe, Lupe Fiasco and more. Premieres Tues., Jan. 31 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Wed., Feb. 1 at 10 p.m. on KCET.
PBS SoCal continues to spotlight Black artists with contemporary musical performers in the special BLACK BROADWAY: A PROUD HISTORY, A LIMITLESS FUTURE. Filmed at Howard University, the live concert with American Pops Orchestra celebrates iconic performances and roles made famous by Black artists and lifts up the next generation of Black Broadway stars. Renditions of Broadway classics across multiple generations include special performances and appearances by Corbin Bleu, Nikki Renée Daniels, Leah Flynn, Sydney James Harcourt, Amber Iman, Tiffany Mann, James Monroe Iglehart, Peppermint and more. Premieres Mon., Feb. 28 at 8:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal.
KCET will host the broadcast premiere of 10 DAYS IN WATTS from actor and Emmy® -nominated filmmaker Raphael Sbarge. The series follows the twelve-year project of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) as the urban garden MudTown Farms approaches opening day in the Los Angeles community of Watts. WLCAC President Tim Watkins shares his family’s three generations of activism, as well as includes interviews with students, farmers and community leaders committed to healing past social injustices. Premieres Sun., Feb. 12 at 8:30 p.m. on KCET.
With original, local content, KCET and PBS SoCal produce programs dedicated to a richer and more authentic California experience, helping residents understand and connect across communities. During Black History month, viewers can catch up on regionally-produced relevant content that includes arts and culture series ARTBOUND, history series LOST LA and HOLLYWOOD’S ARCHITECT: The Paul R. Williams Story. These original programs continue to inspire and are available to stream at kcet.org and pbssocal.org as well as on the free PBS Video App.
Additional PBS programs announced to debut during 2023’s Black History Month underscore the lives and legacies of Black icons such as journalist and activist Ida B. Wells in IDA B. WELLS: AMERICAN STORIES and Tom Bradley, the first Black mayor of Los Angeles, in the award-winning documentary BRIDGING THE DIVIDE: TOM BRADLEY AND THE POLITICS OF RACE.
Viewers can also expect relevant programming options from popular PBS series that include AMERICAN MASTERS and INDEPENDENT LENS, and an all-new episode of FINDING YOUR ROOTS where host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is joined by prominent political activist and author Angela Y. Davis and former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson.
All new digital content produced by PBS SoCal and KCET will also roll out over the course of the month including the PBS Digital Studios series “Hip-Hop and The Metaverse” on PBS Voices, a documentary-focused YouTube channel. Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and hosted by writer, multimedia producer and professor of media arts Dr. Robeson "Taj" Frazier, the series explores how Hip-Hop artists and entrepreneurs are reshaping and remixing emerging technologies as the sound of the future, venturing into new virtual worlds, creating unique experiences for audiences in 3D spaces and developing art with innovative decentralized technologies.
Reinforcing both KCET and PBS SoCal’s commitment to sharing diverse and inclusive stories, the organizations will continue to roll out additional digital content at kcet.org/BlackHistoryMonth and pbssocal.org/BlackHistoryMonth exploring the impact of Black History Month and the Black experience in America.
Select content slated to air during 2023’s Black History Month PBS lineup is listed as follows (*schedule subject to change):
FIGHT THE POWER: HOW HIP HOP CHANGED THE WORLD: “The Foundation” – Tues., Jan. 31 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Wed., Feb. 1 at 10 p.m. on KCET – All New!
Discover the factors that led to the birth of Hip Hop and its first socially conscious hit “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five in 1982.
HOLLYWOOD’S ARCHITECT: THE PAUL R. WILLIAMS STORY – Fri., Feb 3 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Sat., Feb. 18 at 9 p.m. on KCET
Nicknamed “Architect to the Stars,” African American architect Paul R. Williams was one of the most successful architects of his time. But at the height of his career he wasn’t always welcome in the buildings he designed, because of his race.
MAKING BLACK AMERICA: THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: “Episode One” – Fri. Feb. 3 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Sun., Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. on KCET
Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the organizations, networks and artistic impression created by and for Black people.
MAKING BLACK AMERICA: THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: “Episode Two” – Fri. Feb. 3 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Sun., Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. on KCET
Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. highlights organizations and networks that paved the way for Black life to flourish during the early 20th Century as Jim Crow laws went into effect.
BONNIE BOSWELL PRESENTS: “A Conversation with Pastor James Lawson and Attorney Bryan Stevenson” – Sat., Feb. 4 at 9 p.m. on KCET
This special is an intimate look at Pastor James Lawson who has been called “the leading non-violent theorist in the world” and Attorney Bryan Stevenson, often referred to as “America’s Gandhi.” The two men, generations apart, are both iconic figures at the vanguard of America’s Peace and Justice Movement.
LOST LA: “Shindana Toy Company: Changing the American Doll Industry” – Sat., Feb. 4 at 9:30 p.m. on KCET
Explore the lasting impact of the Shindana Toy Company, created out of the need for community empowerment following the 1965 Watts uprising, whose ethnically correct black dolls forever changed the American doll industry.
INDEPENDENT LENS: “The Picture Taker” – Sat., Feb. 4 at 11 p.m. on KCET – All New!
The vibrant, complicated life of Ernest Withers—civil rights photographer and FBI informant—was anything but black and white.
BLACK CHURCH: THIS IS OUR STORY, THIS IS OUR SONG: “Part One” – Sun., Feb. 5 at 4 p.m. on KCET
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. takes viewers on a two-part journey through the rich and complex history of the Black Church to reveal how this uniquely American institution has influenced nearly every chapter of the African American story. Part One explores the roots of African American religion beginning with the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the extraordinary ways enslaved Africans preserved and adapted their faith practices from the brutality of slavery to emancipation.
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: “Celebrating Black Americana” – Mon., Feb. 6 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal
Highlights include an 1821 U.S. citizenship certificate for a free man of color; beauty book by Madam C.J. Walker, the first American female millionaire; a trip to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
INDEPENDENT LENS: “Outta The Muck” – Mon., Feb. 6 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Sat., Feb. 11 at 11 p.m. on KCET – All New!
Beyond sending over a dozen players to the NFL, Pahokee, a rural Florida town on the banks of Lake Okeechobee, possesses a legacy of resilience and achievement in the face of great storms and personal trauma.
FIGHT THE POWER: HOW HIP HOP CHANGED THE WORLD: “Under Siege” – Tues., Feb. 7 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Wed., Feb. 8 at 10 p.m. on KCET – All New!
Explore the 1980s and the birth of Hip Hop as social commentary in the Reagan Era with the emergence of artists like Public Enemy, KRS-One, Ice-T and NWA.
AMERICAN MASTERS: “Charley Pride: I’m Just Me” – Wed., Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. on KCET – All New!
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.
ARTBOUND: “The New West Coast Sound: An L.A. Jazz Legacy” – Wed., Feb. 8 at 9 p.m. on KCET
Growing up amongst jazz legends within the deep musical traditions of Leimert Park, drummer Mekala Session and his peers grapple with how to preserve this rich legacy—striving to carry forward the tenets that took root in the work of Horace Tapscott and his Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. This is the story of Los Angeles’ emerging generation of community-focused Black musicians.
NOVA: “Star Chasers of Segal” – Wed., Feb. 8 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal – All New!
A visionary astronomer in West Africa attempts a high-stakes observation of a distant asteroid vital to a NASA mission. From prehistoric ruins to Islamic skywatchers, explore the heritage and future of African astronomy.
SECRETS OF THE DEAD: THE WOMAN IN THE IRON COFFIN – Wed., Feb. 8 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal
Follow a team of forensic experts as they investigate the preserved remains of a young African American woman from 19th century New York and reveal the little-known story of early America's free black communities.
IDA B. WELLS: AMERICAN STORIES – Wed., Feb. 8 at 11 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Sat., Feb. 11 at 9 p.m. on KCET – All New!
There are few historical figures whose life and work speak to the current moment more than Ida B. Wells, the 19th-century crusading investigative journalist, civil rights leader and passionate suffragist. In the wake of her recent posthumous Pulitzer Prize citation, Chicago street naming and the release of a revealing new biography by her great-granddaughter Michelle Duster, the hour-long documentary tells her story as never before.
BRIDGING THE DIVIDE: TOM BRADLEY AND THE POLITICS OF RACE – Fri., Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Sat., Feb. 25 at 9 p.m. on KCET – All New!
Learn how Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley, the first Black mayor elected in a major U.S. city with a white majority, united a divided city through a unique multi-racial coalition, ushered in police reform and transformed American politics.
MAKING BLACK AMERICA: THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: “Episode Three” – Fri., Feb. 10 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Sun., Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. on KCET
Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores how social networks formed the cultural, economic and political foundation of the Civil Rights Movement which would transform America’s race relations.
MAKING BLACK AMERICA: THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: “Episode Four” – Fri., Feb. 10 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Sun., Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. on KCET
Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores how Black cultural and political movements - from Black Power to Black Twitter - embraced a radical consciousness that championed a new generation.
BLACK CHURCH: THIS IS OUR STORY THIS IS OUR SONG: “Part Two” – Sun., Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. on KCET
Part Two follows the Black church as it expanded its reach to address social inequality and minister to those in need, from the Jim Crow South to the heroic phase of the civil rights movement and the Black church’s role in the present.
10 DAYS IN WATTS “Legacy” - Sun., Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. on KCET and Thurs., Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal – All New!
MudTown Farms, an urban garden twelve years in the making, is ten days from opening in the Los Angeles community of Watts. Tim Watkins, President of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC), shares his vision of a family’s dedication to their beloved community. The WLCAC, a community Center with a powerful legacy, has done much for this underserved community for almost 60 years with the mission “To improve the lives of the citizens of Watts.”
10 DAYS IN WATTS “We Are Taught to Survive” - Sun., Feb. 12 at 8:30 p.m. on KCET and Thurs., Feb. 23 at 8:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal – All New!
A week from opening, the farm faces challenges, deadlines, and cost overruns, but Tim Watkins and the team press on. We also meet several community leaders, including Janine Watkins, speaking about their varied experiences growing up in the Watts community, the influence of Black History, the need for Latino voices and a common thread shared between them embodied by the acronym for Watts: “We Are Taught To Survive.”
FIGHT THE POWER: HOW HIP HOP CHANGED THE WORLD: “Culture Wars” – Tues., Feb. 14 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Wed., Feb. 15 at 10 p.m. on KCET – All New!
Experience the 1990s during the Clinton years and the unstoppable rise in popularity of Hip Hop, which becomes a force that is attacked by all sides of the political establishment.
ARTBOUND: “Afrofuturism” – Sun., Feb. 15 at 9 p.m. on KCET
A new framework for black diasporic art production is taking shape in contemporary Los Angeles. This documentary profiles 5 emerging artists whose work explores the intersection of race, class, identity, and aesthetics.
THROUGH THE BANKS OF THE RED CEDAR – Sun., Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. on KCET
In 1963 Michigan State Head Coach Duffy Daugherty gave 23 African American young men the opportunity of a lifetime. The daughter of Minnesota Vikings football legend Gene Washington deepens her connection to her father as she uncovers how the first fully integrated college football team in America changed the game forever.
10 DAYS IN WATTS “Watts Pride” - Sun., Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. on KCET and Thurs., Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal – All New!
With four days until the opening of MudTown, the next generation of community leaders are introduced as the effects of environmental racism are explored. Perspectives are shared from local residents and community leaders that includes Michael Krikorian, a renowned journalist who has covered Watts for decades and Johanna Rodriguez, a Watts resident on the Mayor’s task force. The episode also features poet Oshea Luga at the Watts Coffee House, a renowned arts community center in the heart of Watts.
10 DAYS IN WATTS “A Garden Grows in Watts” - Sun., Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. on KCET and Thurs., Feb. 23 at 9:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal – All New!
MudTown Farms opens after twelve years and the community comes out to celebrate. For Tim Watkins and family, a new day begins, and the torch is passed from father to son. The community provides feedback on the urban garden’s opening, including perspectives from a pastor, an 18-year-old double amputee headed to college, and a crisis intervention specialist.
FINDING YOUR ROOTS: “And I Still Rise” – Tues., Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal – All New!
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. reveals the unexpected family trees of activist Angela Y. Davis and statesman Jeh Johnson, using DNA and long-lost records to redefine notions of the black experience-and challenge preconceptions of America's past.
FIGHT THE POWER: HOW HIP HOP CHANGED THE WORLD: “Still Fighting” – Tues., Feb. 21 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal – All New!
Follow the evolution of Hip Hop as its artists turn into multimillionaires and successful entrepreneurs. As a cultural phenomenon, Hip Hop continues to change history and is adopted as the voice of protest around the world.
ARTBOUND: “The Watts Towers Arts Center” – Wed., Feb. 22 at 9 p.m. on KCET
The Watts Towers Arts Center was founded by artists and educators in the 1960s and has been a beacon of art and culture in the community for decades. This episode features the work of artists including Noah Purifoy, John Outterbridge, Betye Saar, Charles White and Mark Steven Greenfield.
GREAT PERFORMANCES: “The Magic of Spirituals” – Fri., Feb. 24 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal – All New!
Glimpse behind the curtain at opera legends Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman's famed concert at Carnegie Hall on March 18, 1990, featuring performance clips and new interviews with opera star Angel Blue, Met Opera General Manager Peter Gelb and more.
IRMA: MY LIFE IN MUSIC – Sat., Feb. 25 at 11 p.m. on KCET
The life and career of Grammy® Award-winning artist Irma Thomas and her impact on R&B, featuring archival concert footage from performances filmed at The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
BLACK BROADWAY: “A Proud History, A Limitless Future” – Mon., Feb. 28 at 8:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal – All New!
Join an all-star cast performing songs from the hit musicals Dreamgirls, Ain't Misbehavin, The Color Purple, Porgy and Bess and so many more to celebrate the rich history and evolution of Black roles and voices on Broadway. Weaving the history, prominence and hopes for the future through music, the cast is led by Stephanie Mills, Norm Lewis, Corbin Bleu, Nikki Renée Daniels, Peppermint, Tiffany Mann and Sydney James Harcourt. Special appearances include Clayton Cornelius, James Monroe Iglehart, Brittany Johnson and many more.
Join the conversation on social media by tagging #BlackHistoryMonth using @KCET and @PBSSoCal
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