Black History Month Programming on Emmy Award-Winning WQED tv13

Black History Month Programming on Emmy Award-Winning WQED tv13

Some programs available on WQED.org after initial airing

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Join WQED in February for a celebration of the history, culture and contributions of African-Americans. Local and national programming on WQED tv13 will highlight influential individuals and important events that not only comprise the substantial legacy of black Americans, but also shape the history and present-day culture of all Americans.

This month, WQED premieres a new documentary called Jim Crow Pennsylvania, hosted by Emmy Award-winning producer Chris Moore.

Jim Crow Pennsylvania, Thursday, February 8 at 8pm; Friday, February 9 at 10pm; Saturday, February 10 at 1am; Sunday, February 11 at 3pm; and Sunday, February 25 at 5pm.

This WQED-produced documentary looks at how 'Jim Crow' practices affected black Pennsylvanians: the first African American family to purchase a home in Levittown; the role of the Pullman Porters in Pittsburgh and their work with labor and civil rights leader A. Phillip Randolph, who founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and later organized African American steelworkers; the 1911 lynching that forever changed Coatesville; and other stirring stories of victory and struggle.

Jim Crow Pennsylvania includes archival footage from Pittsburgh Filmmakers, the WQED archives, and period photographs from the Carnegie Museum's Teenie Harris Collection.

The program highlights some of the people who suffered but survived the harsh practices and are willing to tell their stories. Historical context is provided by Dr. Thomas Sugrue of the University of Pennsylvania and by footage of the late Dr. Edna McKenzie, a Pittsburgh historian and former Pittsburgh Courier journalist.

Other notable programs on WQED tv13 in February:

Torchbearers, Thursday, February 1 at 8pm.; Saturday, February 3 at 1am and 3pm

A documentary produced by WQED on Pittsburgh's civil rights pioneers. Torchbearers uses interviews, photos and archival footage to tell the story of Pittsburgh's struggles during the so-called golden era of civil rights. Torchbearers spans events from the 1950's through the 70's, and features many of the men and women who risked everything for their beliefs.

Race: The Power of an Illusion (3-part series), Thursdays, February 1, 8, 15 at 10pm.

This series challenges one of our most fundamental beliefs: that human beings come bundled into a few distinct groups, and shows how race, rather than being a biological reality, is a social construction. Drawing upon science, American history and contemporary events, the series offers viewers a fresh look at a complex and important subject.

Black Horizons, Fridays at 9pm and Sundays at 2pm

African-American issues are explored by Emmy Award-winning Chris Moore and guests on the longest-running minority affairs program in the country.

Tony Brown's Journal, Sundays at 2:30pm.

Tony Brown's Journal presents programs featuring guest discussions, commentaries and documentaries pertaining to issues of importance to diverse racial groups in America.

DeFord Bailey: A Legend Lost, Sunday, February 4 at 10:30pm.

DeFord Bailey was one of the first solo stars of the Grand Ole Opry. He played twice as often as any other musician, and his music inspired the show's famous name. Considered one of the most controversial and mysterious events in Grand Ole Opry history, DeFord Bailey left the stage in the early 1940's and refused to perform professionally. His music was lost until nearly 30 years later when a history student at the local university, David Morton, met and befriended him and arranged for him to return to the Opry stage for four more performances before his death in 1982. DeFord Bailey died never knowing his place in history and American music. This documentary not only tells his story, but also the little known story of how much black musicians influenced many of country music's legends.

Dance Party: The Teenarama Story, Sunday, February 4 at 4:30pm.

Narrated by Motown recording artist Martha Reeves of Martha and The Vandellas, Dance Party: The Teenarama Story examines television's teen-dance phenomenon of the 1950s and '60s. During the time, African-American teens often were excluded or given "separate but unequal" treatment by shows like American Bandstand. That all changed in 1963 when a small television station in Washington, D.C. launched a dance program geared specifically to black teenagers.

Often called the precursor of Soul Train, Teenarama Dance Party ran six days a week for seven years, and became the longest-running teen dance shows of the 1960s. Dance Party captures the Teenarama era through archival footage, photography, period re-enactments and interviews with series regulars and performers including James Brown.

NOVA Forgotten Genius, Tuesday, February 6 at 8pm.

NOVA profiles one of the most accomplished African-American scientists of the 20th century in Forgotten Genius. Percy Julian not only was a scientific genius, but also an industrialist, self-made millionaire, humanitarian and civil rights pioneer. The grandson of Alabama slaves, Julian won worldwide acclaim for his research in chemistry and broke the color barrier in American science more than a decade before Jackie Robinson did so in baseball. The two- hour program traces the vivid saga of Julian's dazzling scientific achievements and sometimes stormy personal life.

Independent Lens Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life, Tuesday, February 6 at 10pm.

As Duke Ellington's co-composer, arranger and right-hand man, Pittsburgh native Billy Strayhorn wrote some of the greatest American music of the 20th century. But as a gay man in the '40s and '50s, Strayhorn had to lead a discreet existence, while Ellington played to thunderous applause on center stage. The program tells the story of the unheralded man who changed jazz and popular music forever, maintaining artistic and personal integrity, while challenging prejudice along the way.

The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords, Sunday, February 11 at 4pm.

The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords is an historical account that chronicles the growth, accomplishments and illustrious history of what once was this country's only voice for the African-American community. The special is the first documentary to provide an in-depth examination of the history and contributions of African-American newspapers. Since the early 1800s, black newspapers have existed in almost every major city in the United States. This program gives life to this little-known history by weaving interviews with editors, photographers and journalists of the black press with archival footage, photographs and the music of Grammy award-winning jazz artist Ron Carter. Stage, screen and television actor Joe Morton narrates.

Return to the Roots of Civil Rights, Sunday, February 11 at 10:30pm; Thursday, February 15 at 8:30pm; Sunday, February 4 at 4pm; and Sunday, February 11 at 5:30pm.

WQED's Emmy Award-winning OnQ went down South last summer to hop a ride on the "Returning to the Roots of Civil Rights" bus tour which originated in Beaver Falls. The tour visited key civil rights sites in seven states, starting with the Woolworth lunch counter sit-in in Greensboro, North Carolina. Viewers will get to experience the sites and hear the stories of the men and women who led the movement that abolished segregation and gave African Americans the right to vote.

An Evening with Colin Powell, Friday, February 16 at 10pm.

This program provides a rare and insightful look into the life and career of Colin Powell. Taped in front of an audience at George Washington University in Washington, DC, it features author and political commentator, Juan Williams guiding Colin Powell through the four-star general and former Secretary of State's highly accomplished life.

Independent Lens Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, Tuesday, February 20 at 10pm.

Independent Lens takes an in-depth look at machismo in rap music and hip- hop culture -- where creative genius, poetic beauty and mad beats collide with misogyny, violence and homophobia. Beyond Beats and Rhymes goes beyond the music and profiles several people who use rap as a creative and artistic expression.

In Country: A Vietnam Story, Thursday, February 22 at 8pm; Friday, February 23 at 10pm, Saturday, February 24 at 1am; and Sunday, February 25 at 3pm.

In this encore airing, WQED's Chris Moore returns to Vietnam for the first time since serving during the Vietnam conflict in this moving documentary. Chris is joined by his two closest friends - Andrew Boone and Leroy Perry - as well as a humanitarian group of Vietnam veterans. Together they rediscover a country and its people last seen through the harsh lens of war.

Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for Change, Thursday, February 22 at 10pm.

Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for Change is produced by Alabama Public Television and Hart Films. An unabashed spiritual take on the Selma, Alabama voting rights marches of 1965, this film follows the unlikely army of Catholic nuns as they come from around the country to join the Selma protests. In 2003, director Jayasri Hart reunited the nuns to let them view themselves and the protests for the first time; their recorded reactions help narrate the film.

Wylie Avenue Days, Sunday, February 25 at 4:00 pm.

The only street in the U.S. that began at a church and ended at a jail, Wylie Avenue, in Pittsburgh's Hill District. This one-hour special produced by WQED and hosted by Chris Moore, recalls when it represented the heart of black life in Pittsburgh, much as Harlem did in New York. This program captures it all - clubs like the Crawford and the Hurricane where the music attracted both blacks and whites, the church picnics and family businesses that were all a part of the life in this unique neighborhood. The spirit of the area effectively captured, results in a program with universal appeal.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROGRAMMING ON WQED.ORG

The following segments from OnQ will be available on WQED's web site at www.wqed.org after they air on WQED tv13 on the date noted:

* Profile of Reverend Robert Graetz - February 15. Reverend Graetz was featured in WQED's production of Return to the Roots of Civil Rights: An OnQ Special Edition. He was pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Montgomery, Alabama during the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. He became the only white member of the Montgomery Improvement Association. For that, his house was firebombed and the Graetz family was harassed and even arrested.

* African-American Leadership Awards - February 21. Duquesne Light sponsors and WQED presents four outstanding adults and students who have made an impact on different aspects of the African American community.

* From the Kaufmanns to the Kennedys - February 22. As world class baker and confidant, Elsie Henderson once worked for some of the most prestigious families in the U.S. She tells OnQ Correspondent Tonia Caruso about her life, her work and her friendships with the rich and famous.

* World War II African American Women Veterans - February 27. A piece about the restrictions that faced African American women in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II.

The WQED web site also has two previously-aired programs available for view on www.wqed.org:

Torchbearers - airs on WQED tv13 on Thursday, February 1 at 8pm.; Saturday, February 3 at 1am and 3pm. A documentary produced by WQED on Pittsburgh's civil rights pioneers, and Barbershops: PA Stylin', an hour long documentary produced by WQED with funding from the Pennsylvania Public Television Network. The program takes a loving look at the cultural importance of barbershops in the African American community and is hosted and narrated by WQED's Emmy Award-winning Chris Moore.

WQED Multimedia, honored with the Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for Station Excellence and eight other Emmy Awards in 2006, provides quality products and services to engage, inform, educate and entertain the public within its community and around the world. It is the parent company of WQED tv13 (PBS), WQEX tv16, WQED fm89.3, WQEJ fm89.7/Johnstown, a publishing division that includes PITTSBURGH magazine, local and national television and radio productions, www.wqed.org and the WQED Education and Community Resource Center.

CONTACT:
Rosemary Martinelli
412-622-6433
rmartine@wqed.org

George Hazimanolis
412-622-1366
ghaziman@wqed.org

Source: WQED

CONTACT: Rosemary Martinelli, +1-412-622-6433, rmartine@wqed.org, or
George Hazimanolis, +1-412-622-1366, ghaziman@wqed.org, both of
WQED

Web site: http://www.wqed.org/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Preview tapes of the above programs are available for review. Please contact WQED if interested.

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