Black History Month 2013 on WTTW

DuSable to Obama: Chicago’s Black Metropolis
Thursday, February 7 at 8:00 pm
WTTW’s original documentary celebrates the remarkable history of African-Americans in Chicago. From the arrival of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable to make his home in what would later become our city, to the groundbreaking election of Chicago’s first black mayor Harold Washington, to Chicagoan Barack Obama’s triumphant ascent to the Presidency in 2008, this film tells the inspiring stories of the eminent and the unsung – the everyday African-Americans who have helped to mold the city through politics, culture, and business. Visit the DuSable to Obama: Chicago's Black Metropolis website.

Slavery By Another Name
Thursday, February 7 at 9:30 pm
This new documentary based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Wall Street Journal senior writer Douglas A. Blackmon examines the concept of “neoslavery,” which sentenced African-Americans in the post-Emancipation South to forced labor for violating an array of laws that criminalized their everyday behavior. Award-winning actor Laurence Fishburne narrates the film.

A Night with Warren Washington
Sunday, February 10 at 3:00 pm
Global warming and climate change are topical issues of today. This program features a fascinating look at the word of one of the nation's leading atmospheric scientists, Dr. Warren Washington. Interviewed by the President of the National Academy of Sciences and leading atmospheric scientist Dr. Ralph Cicerone, Dr. Warren Washington explores his family's African American history from the 1900s in Portland, Oregon to his being awarded the National Medal of Science by President Barack Obama in 2010.

Independent Lens: More than a Month
Monday, February 11 at 10:00 pm
Shukree Hassan Tilghman, an African-American filmmaker, is on a cross-country campaign to end Black History Month. Through this tongue-in-cheek and thought-provoking journey, investigate what the treatment of history tells us about race and equality in a “post-racial” America.

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story
Friday, February 15 at 10:30 pm
Exploring one man’s mission to help slaves escape to freedom, this program looks at the inner workings of the Underground Railroad through detailed records, diaries and other written accounts of the freedom seekers who made their way across the U.S. border to Canada.

Independent Lens: The Powerbroker – Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil Rights
Monday, February 18 at 9:00 pm
Whitney M. Young, Jr. was one of the most celebrated — and controversial — leaders of the civil rights era.  Follow his journey from segregated Kentucky to head of the National Urban League. Unique among black leaders, Young took the fight directly to the powerful white elite, gaining allies in business and government, including three presidents. He had the difficult tasks of calming the fears of white allies, relieving the doubts of fellow civil rights leaders and responding to attacks from the militant Black Power movement.

Freedom Riders: American Experience
Thursday, February 21 at 8:00 pm
From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism. This is the powerful, harrowing, and ultimately inspirational story of six months that changed America forever.

Music & Message of Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions
Thursday, February 21 at 10:00 pm
This program tells the incredible Mayfield/Impressions story through interviews as well as 22 complete performances from The Impressions and Curtis Mayfield’s solo career, filmed between 1965 and 1973.

American Masters: Sister Rosetta Tharpe – The Godmother of Rock and Roll
Friday, February 22 at 9:00 pm
Discover the life, music and influence of African-American gospel singer and guitar virtuoso Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973). Southern-born, Chicago-raised and New York-made, “She could play the guitar like nobody else … nobody.” During the 1940s-60s, Sister Rosetta introduced the spiritual passion of her gospel music into the secular world of rock ’n’ roll, inspiring the male icons of the genre. One of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Tharpe may not be a household name today, but the flamboyant superstar, with her spectacular playing on the newly electrified guitar, had a major influence on black musicians, including Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Isaac Hayes and Etta James, and also on white stars such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

Evening with Berry Gordy
Friday, February 22 at 10:00 pm
Gwen Ifill interviews Berry Gordy, founder in 1959 of Motown Records, which became the most successful African-American-owned enterprise in the United States. Gordy’s celebrated life as entrepreneur, songwriter, record producer, movie director and producer has left an indelible influence on music and films nationally and internationally.  Performing one tribute song from Gordy’s musical career, representing the old and new school Motown, are Valerie Simpson (Ashford & Simpson) and R&B musician KEM. Gordy’s son, Stefan Gordy — known to the music world as Redfoo — one-half of the hip-hop musical group, LMFAO, will be in attendance.

World of Nat King Cole
Thursday, February 28 at 8:00 pm
Nat King Cole is considered to be one of the 20th century's most distinctive voices. He was a respected and influential jazz pianist with his King Cole Trio during the 1930s and 1940s, but the group found its greatest success when Cole began doubling as a solo singer. His soft baritone made songs such as "Straighten Up and Fly Right," "Sweet Lorraine," and "Route 66" chart successes, and led him into a prolific recording career that would produce not only hit singles but many Gold and Platinum albums. THE WORLD OF NAT KING COLE traces the life and career of the Chicago born singer who passed away in his prime at age 45, but whose music has been loved and enjoyed by generations since.

American Masters: Cab Calloway – Sketches
Thursday, February 28 at 9:00 pm
Explore the life of this pioneering jazz legend who charmed audiences with his bravado and showmanship. A singer, dancer and bandleader, Cab Calloway led one of the most popular African-American big bands during the jazz and swing eras of the 1930s-40s, with Harlem’s famous Cotton Club as his home stage. Best known for the “Hi de hi de hi de ho” refrain from his signature song “Minnie the Moocher,” for his portrayal of Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess (1952) and for his role in The Blues Brothers (1980), Calloway influenced countless performers, including Michael and Janet Jackson, and many of today’s hip-hop artists.

The Black Kung Fu Experience
Thursday, February 28 at 10:00 pm
The film focuses on how a group of African American pioneers became respected masters in a subculture dominated by Chinese and white men. Their stories illustrate how kungfu was – and still is – a unique crucible of the black experience, which is less about flash and style, kicks and punches, than it is about community, identity, and cross-cultural bridges.