WETA Television proudly celebrates Black History Month with a special lineup that highlights the rich culture and history of African Americans on WETA TV 26. Throughout the broadcast year, the station is committed to presenting programs reflecting the diversity of our community. Visit weta.org for the complete program schedule. Wednesday, February 3 • 2:00 p.m. UNFORGIVABLE BLACKNESS: THE RISE AND FALL OF JACK JOHNSON — A film directed by Ken Burns and co-produced by WETA chronicles the life and career of the first African- American heavyweight boxing champion, who suffered racially motivated persecution by the U.S. government. Part 1 of 2. Johnson enters the world of professional boxing and in 1908 captures the heavy- weight title, setting in motion a world- wide search for a “white hope” to defeat him. In the 1910 “Battle of the Century” that results, Johnson fights ex-title holder Jim Jeffries. {DVI} Thursday, February 11 • 8:00 p.m. IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: A CELEBRATION OF MUSIC FROM THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT — The WETA production, created in association with the National Black Programming Consortium, features President and Mrs. Obama hosting a February 10 concert in the White House East Room that celebrates songs from the Civil Rights Movement per- formed by an array of top musical artists from that era along with contemporary pop luminaries. Onstage performers include Bob Dylan, Smokey Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend and The Blind Boys of Alabama. Repeats Fri. 2/12, 1:30 p.m. Sunday, February 14 • 2:00 p.m. AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES — Harvard African-American Studies scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. uses genealogy and DNA science to tell the story of eight accomplished African Americans — including Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones — tracing their roots through American history and back to Africa. Episode 2 of 2. Searching for Our Names/Beyond the Middle Passage. Dr. Gates finds genealogical research more challenging as he works back from the Civil War through the Colonial period of American history, searching war records and property inventories; exhausting the paper trail, Gates visits West Africa after consulting with scientists who are using DNA analysis to trace ancestral roots. {DVI} Monday, February 15 • 10:00 p.m. A RIPPLE OF HOPE — On the night of Dr. Martin Luther King’s murder in 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was scheduled to make Wednesday, February 3 • 4:00 p.m. AN EVENING WITH QUINCY JONES — An hour-long interview taped in Washington, D.C., with a live audience offers a rare look into the life of music mogul Quincy Jones. WETA’s Gwen Ifill interviews Jones and hosts the star-studded evening, which features live performances by Lesley Gore, BeBe Winans, James Ingram, Bobby McFerrin and Herbie Hancock. Friday, February 5 • 10:00 p.m. AN EVENING WITH SMOKEY ROBINSON — WETA’s Gwen Ifill talks with Smokey Robinson, giving viewers an insider’s look at the life and career of the Motown legend. The program, taped in 2009 before an audience at Northwestern University Thorne Auditorium, features former Motown executive and film producer Suzanne de Passe as mistress of ceremonies, with musical tributes from Grammy-nominated artists such as Teena Marie, Howard Hewett and Musiq Soulchild. Repeats Sun. 2/7, 4 p.m. Saturday, February 6 • 11:00 p.m. INDEPENDENT LENS: HERSKOVITS AT THE HEART OF BLACKNESS — Using photomontage re-creations, interviews, animation, original field footage and recordings, this film examines the forgotten legacy of Melville Herskovits. The con- troversial Jewish anthropologist’s writings in the 40s and 50s challenged widely held assumptions about race and culture by insisting that we look at the world through each other’s lives and histories. Sunday, February 7 • 2:00 p.m. AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES — Harvard African- American Studies scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. uses genealogy and DNA science to tell the story of eight accomplished African Americans — including Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones — tracing their roots through American history and back to Africa. Episode 1 of 2. Discovering Roots/ The Promise of Freedom. In exploring the family histories of the program participants, Gates explores the post-World War I “Great Migration” of African-American families to northern cities and examines Jim Crow segregation in the South; in the second hour, Gates explores how African Americans defined their freedom after slavery. {DVI} Wednesday, February 10 • 2:00 p.m. UNFORGIVABLE BLACKNESS: THE RISE AND FALL OF JACK JOHNSON — Part 2 of 2. Johnson’s defeat of Jeffries leaves him on top of the boxing world, but the U.S. government sets out to destroy him in the courts, using his some- times-troubled relationships with white women as an excuse to prosecute him. {DVI} Wednesday, February 10 • 4:00 p.m. AN EVENING WITH EARTHA KITT — In a lively and playful interview, WETA’s Gwen Ifill talks with legendary performer Eartha Kitt about her stage, dance and acting career. Kitt closes the program by singing “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “La Vie En Rose” and “Here’s to Life.” an appearance in an African-American neighbor- hood in Indianapolis as part of his run for the democratic presidential nomination. This documentary explores how, upon hearing the tragic news, Kennedy kept his promise to speak in Indianapolis and was able to help that city avert the violence that swept the rest of the country and make a profound statement about American race relations. Wednesday, February 17 • 3:00 p.m. AMERICAN MASTERS: ZORA NEALE HURSTON: JUMP AT THE SUN — The biography series spotlights author Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most celebrated — and most controversial — figures of the Harlem Renaissance. An African- American writer, cultural anthropologist, chronicler of folk roots, and daughter of former slaves, Hurston attained success but ulti- mately died a pauper’s death in total obscurity. Her works were resurrected by author Alice Walker. Thursday, February 18 • 10:40 p.m. AMERICAN MASTERS: MARVIN GAYE: WHAT’S GOING ON — The biography series profiles the enormously talented and equally complicated Motown recording artist and soul/pop music performer. The film features performance footage and insights from Gaye’s peers in the music business. Repeats Tue. 2/23, 4 p.m. Friday, February 19 • 10:00 p.m. AMERICAN MASTERS: THE WORLD OF NAT KING COLE — A biography of the performer focuses not just on Cole’s celebrity, but on the Civil Rights movement and how the singer of ©Corbis Zora Neale Hurston Robert F. Kennedy Eartha Kitt and journalist Gwen Ifill. Program host/interviewer Gwen Ifill and Smokey Robinson Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. Toya Werner Martin Credit: Toya Werner Martin Credit: Gary Phillips Collection Courtesy American Public Television