Black History is American history. It honors our past, present and future. NEPM is committed to sharing programs this month — and every month — that explore the Black experience. We celebrate Black achievements in history, art, music, culture and more.
Great Migrations: A People on the Move
Tuesdays at 9 p.m. through Feb. 18 on NEPM TV
Explore the transformative impact of Black migration on American culture and society. From the waves of Black Americans to the North—and back South—over the last century to the growing number of immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean today, the film shows how movement is a defining feature of the Black experience.
Finding Your Roots
Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NEPM TV
For more than a decade, renowned Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has helped to expand America’s sense of itself, stimulating a national conversation about identity with humor, wisdom, and compassion. Professor Gates has explored the ancestry of dozens of influential people from diverse backgrounds, taking millions of viewers deep into the past to reveal the connections that bind us all.
Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom
Sunday, Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. on NEPM TV
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Go beyond the legend and meet the inspiring woman who repeatedly risked her own life and freedom to liberate others from slavery. Born 200 years ago in Maryland, Harriet Tubman was a conductor of the Underground Railroad, a Civil War scout, nurse and spy, and one of the greatest freedom fighters in our nation’s history.
The Lost Cause
Sunday, Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. on 88.5 NEPM
This provocative audio documentary explores the myth of The Lost Cause, a revisionist history that cast the Confederacy’s humiliating defeat in a treasonous war for slavery as the embodiment of the framers’ true vision for America and pushed the idea that the Civil War was not actually about slavery.
Antiques Roadshow: Celebrating Black Americana
Monday, Feb. 3 at 9 p.m. on NEPM TV
Celebrate Black History Month with a special hour that spotlights and celebrates Black Americana, including an 1821 U.S. citizenship certificate, a Madam C.J. Walker beauty book, and a visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

American Experience: 'American Coup: Wilmington 1898'
Thursday, Feb. 6 at 9 p.m. on NEPM TV
Discover the story of the deadly 1898 race massacre and coup d’état in Wilmington, North Carolina, when white supremacists overthrew the multi-racial government of the state’s largest city through a campaign of violence and intimidation.
The Other Moonshot
Sundays Feb. 9 - March 2 at 1 p.m. on 88.5 NEPM
As America seethes with civil unrest in the 1960s, three men in Los Angeles play a key role in getting us to the moon. You may think you know everything about our race to space. But there is still, even after all this time, a version that’s never been heard. This is the story of the Black aerospace engineers in Los Angeles who worked on the Apollo missions — despite barely being allowed in the room.
Legacies: Stories of Black History in the 413
Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 13 at 10:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. on NEPM TV
Black history in western Massachusetts is a rich tapestry of culture, resilience, and perseverance. Legacies: Stories of Black History in the 413 examines different facets of the Black experience in the region through the lens of three different stories.
Becoming Frederick Douglass
Sunday, Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. on NEPM TV
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Discover how a man born into slavery became one of the most influential voices for democracy in American history. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Stanley Nelson explores the role Douglass played in securing the right to freedom for African Americans.
Chautauqua at 150: Wynton Marsalis’ 'All Rise'
Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 10 p.m. on NEPM TV
Celebrate the story and lasting impact of this iconic institution through inspiring stories of faith and democracy with a stirring performance of Wynton Marsalis' "All Rise" and appearances by Kathryn Hahn, Kwame Alexander, Misty Copeland, and more.
Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten
Thursday, Feb. 13 at 9 p.m. on NEPM TV
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Learn about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, on the 100th anniversary of the crime, and how the community of Tulsa is coming to terms with its past, present, and future.
Black College Football Hall of Fame: Journey to Canton
Sunday, Feb. 16 at 1:30 p.m. on NEPM TV
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“Headed to Canton” is often used synonymously when referring to an NFL player who will one day be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, located in Canton, Ohio. Now, more than 50 year later, heading to Canton has expanded to include collegiate football. In 2019, the Black College Football Hall of Fame was officially welcomed to the campus of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
BBC Witness History: 'The Black Experience'
Monday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. on 88.5 NEPM
Fascinating, harrowing, and inspiring first-person stories, bringing together some incredible stories about the Black experience, presented by the BBC.

American Experience: 'The Riot Report'
Thursday, Feb. 20 at 9 p.m on NEPM TV
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Revisit 1967, when inner cities across America erupted in violence. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the Kerner Commission to investigate and the Commission’s final report would offer a shockingly unvarnished assessment of race relations that still resonates today.
American Masters: 'The Disappearance of Miss Scott'
Friday, Feb. 21 at 9 p.m. on NEPM TV
Learn about jazz virtuoso and screen superstar Hazel Scott, the first Black American to have their own television show. An early civil rights pioneer, Scott faced down the Red Scare at the risk of losing her career and was a champion for equality.
John Lewis: Get in the Way
Sunday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m.
Follow the journey of civil rights hero, congressman and human rights champion John Lewis. At the Selma March, Lewis came face-to-face with club-wielding troopers and exemplified non-violence. At age 76, he was considered the conscience of Congress.

American Experience: 'Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP'
Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 9 p.m. on NEPM TV
Meet Walter White, the NAACP’s longtime leader and one of the most influential but least known figures in civil rights history. Under his leadership, the NAACP paved the way for Black power at the ballot box and scored important legal victories.
American Experience: 'Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space'
Thursday, Feb. 27 at 9 p.m. on NEPM TV
Meet the influential author and key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Also an anthropologist, Zora Hurston collected folklore throughout the South and Caribbean — reclaiming, honoring and celebrating Black life on its own terms.
STREAM

Gospel
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From the blues to hip hop, African Americans have been the driving force of sonic innovation for over a century. Musical styles come and go, but there's one sound that has been a constant source of strength, courage and wisdom from the pulpit to the choir lofts on any given Sunday. Gospel, the history series from Henry Louis Gates, Jr., digs deep into the origin story of Black spirituality through sermon and song.
The Black Church
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An intimate four-hour series from Henry Louis Gates, Jr., The Black Church explores the 400-year-old story of the black church in America, the changing nature of worship spaces, and the men and women who shepherded them from the pulpit, the choir loft, and church pews.
POV: 'Brief Tender Light'
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A Ghanaian MIT alum follows four African students at his alma mater as they strive to become agents of change for their home countries Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Over an intimate, nearly decade-long journey, all must decide how much of America to absorb, how much of Africa to hold on to, and how to reconcile teenage ideals with the truths they discover about the world and themselves.

The Cost of Inheritance
This America ReFramed special explores the complex issue of reparations in the U.S. using a thoughtful approach to history, historical injustices, systemic inequities, and critical dialogue on racial conciliation. Through personal narratives, community inquiries, and scholarly insights, it aims to inspire understanding of the scope and rationale of the reparations debate.

Independent Lens: 'Racist Trees'
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Were trees intentionally planted to exclude and segregate a Black neighborhood? Racial tensions ignite in this documentary, when a historically Black neighborhood in Palm Springs, California, fights to remove a towering wall of tamarisk trees. The trees form a barrier, believed by some to segregate the community, frustrating residents who regard them as an enduring symbol of racism.
Independent Lens: 'Razing Liberty Square'
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Liberty City, Miami, is home to one of the oldest segregated public housing projects in the United States. Now with rising sea levels, the neighborhood’s higher ground has become something else: real estate gold.

Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World
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Authored by Public Enemy’s Chuck D, who famously labeled Hip Hop as “the Black CNN” for bringing the stories of the street to the mainstream, this 4-part series includes personal testimonies of the MCs, DJs, graffiti artists, filmmakers, politicians and opinion formers who created and shaped its direction as it grew from an underground movement in the Bronx to the most popular music genre in the U.S. and the fastest growing genre in the world today.
American Masters: 'Basquiat: Rage to Riches'
One of the most influential American artists of the 20th century, Jean-Michel Basquiat was a rock star of the early ’80s New York art scene.
Shuttlesworth
Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth was raised in the crucible of segregated Birmingham but he was forged by its attempt to kill him. When the KKK planted a bomb underneath his bed and he emerged unharmed, he was sure he was saved by God to lead a Movement. His work not only ended legal segregation but led directly to the Civil and Voting Rights Acts — and inspired freedom movements around the world. From Alabama Public Television.
Muhammad Ali
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Ken Burns brings to life one of the most indelible figures of the 20th century, a three-time heavyweight boxing champion who captivated millions of fans across the world with his mesmerizing combination of speed, grace, and power in the ring, and charm and playful boasting outside of it. Ali insisted on being himself unconditionally and became a global icon and inspiration to people everywhere.

American Experience: 'The Blinding of Isaac Woodard'
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In 1946, Isaac Woodard, a Black army sergeant on his way home to South Carolina after serving in WWII, was pulled from a bus for arguing with the driver. The local chief of police savagely beat him, leaving him unconscious and permanently blind.
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
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This film by Ken Burns chronicles the life and career of boxer Jack Johnson, the first African American heavyweight champion and one of the greatest fighters of the 20th century. Johnson ultimately lost his title in a bout in Cuba in 1915, after fleeing the United States following his federal conviction for allegedly violating the Mann Act, a progressive-era law intended to crackdown on commercialized vice but used against Johnson.
FOR KIDS, PARENTS AND EDUCATORS

Celebrate Black History with PBS Kids Read-Along Videos
PBS Kids has curated a collection of videos that offer read-alongs with artists and celebrities — Amanda Gorman, Misty Copeland, Hana Ali, Carla Hall, Christian Robinson, and others.
How Black History Art Can Spark Conversations with Children
When presented in ways that children can appreciate, art has been proven to produce academic benefits such as increased vocabulary, plus math and reading growth, as well as behavioral benefits such as social-emotional learning. The arts in general, and Black art in particular, can help children resist race-based negativity, giving them the strength, confidence and self-assurance that will help protect them from racial injustices for years to come.

Children’s Books to Celebrate Black Culture
Understanding and celebrating diverse cultures begins the moment children begin exploring and reading books. PBS Kids for Parents has a list of books that offer windows into the world of Black lives and culture.
Teachers and parents turn to PBS Learning Media for a wealth of information on just about any school subject — including many relating to Black History month. Units are available on the Freedom Riders, Malcom X, Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, and many more.