To honor Black History Month, and as part of our commitment to celebrate the diversity of America year-round, KET will air a collection of documentaries and specials that highlight the African-American experience throughout the month of February.

Highlights include a new documentary on the legacy of Maya Angelou, a spotlight on the opening of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and a history of African American tour guides at Mammoth Cave.

KET’s Black History Month programming includes:

 

• African American Museum

KET2: Sunday, Feb. 5 at 10/9 pm

President Obama and celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, and Angela Bassett christen the September 2016 opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture with inspirational words.

 

• Independent Lens “Birth of a Movement”

KET: Monday, Feb. 6 at 10/9 pm

Based on Dick Lehr’s book The Birth of a Movement: How Birth of a Nation Ignited the Battle for Civil Rights, the documentary tells the little-known story of William Trotter, an African-American journalist who launched a protest against the 1915 release of D.W. Griffith’s controversial film The Birth of a Nation­—laying the groundwork for the civil rights movement to come. Features interviews with Spike Lee, Reginald Hudlin, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and others.

 

• Smokey Robinson: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

KET: Friday, Feb. 10 at 9:30/8:30 pm

Host Samuel L. Jackson presents an all-star tribute to singer and songwriter Smokey Robinson, the 2016 recipient of the Gershwin Prize, with a special appearance by Berry Gordy, founder of Motown.

 

• The Talk – Race in America

KET: Monday, Feb. 20 at 9/8 pm

This two-hour documentary explores the conversation parents of color have with their children about how to behave if stopped by police. The film illustrates the issue from multiple points of view: parent, child, the police and the community.

 

• The Mayor – Age of Riley

KET2: Monday, Feb. 20 at 10/9 pm

A profile of Mayor Joseph P. Riley of Charleston, South Carolina, who, in the final quarter of his last term in office, faced “his worst nightmare”: the tragic massacre of nine African Americans by young a white supremacist in the oldest African Methodist Episcopalian church in America.

 

• Maya Angelou: American Masters

KET: Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 8/7 pm

KET2: Sunday, Feb. 26 at 9/8 pm

This first documentary feature about author and activist Dr. Maya Angelou (1928-2014), best known for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, weaves her words with rare, archival photographs and videos that share details of her participation in some of America’s most defining moments. From her upbringing in the Depression-era South to her work with Malcolm X in Ghana to her inauguration poem for President Bill Clinton, the film takes viewers on a journey through the life of an American icon. Features interviews with Oprah Winfrey, the Clintons, Cicely Tyson, Quincy Jones and others.

 

• Black Guides of Mammoth Cave

KET2: Sunday, Feb. 26 at 8/7 pm

This film traces the history and legacy of early African American tour guides at Mammoth Cave, including the story of the Bransfords, an African American family whose members have served as tour guides in and around Mammoth Cave for five generations.

 

• Africa’s Great Civilizations

KET: Begins Monday, Feb. 27 at 9/8 pm

This epic new series, hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., explores the complexity, grandeur and diversity of the great civilizations that once flourished across the African continent. The series brings to life stories of both little-known and celebrated African kingdoms and cultures and includes a historical reflection on the slave trade to the Americas.

 

KET is Kentucky’s largest classroom, serving more than one million people each week via television, online and mobile. Learn more about Kentucky’s preeminent public media organization on Twitter @KET and facebook.com/KET and at KET.org.

Contact:

Todd Piccirilli
Senior Director, Marketing and Communications
859-258-7242
tpiccirilli@ket.org