In honor of this special month, WCNY celebrates the lives of Black Americans who have made lasting contributions to history through their artistry, professional achievements, and community activism.
Join us throughout the month for special programming that highlights the powerful stories and inspiring accomplishments of Black Americans who have helped shape American history and culture.
Explore our curated lineup of upcoming programs airing on WCNY-TV and Classic FM, along with exclusive streaming features and a special screening event!
Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom
Watch Saturday, Feb. 1 at 9 p.m. on WCNY-TV
Meet the courageous woman who risked her life to free 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.
Great Migrations: A People on the Move
Watch Tuesday, Feb. 4, 11, & 18 at 9:30 p.m. on WCNY-TV
“Great Migrations: A People on the Move” explores 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.
Watch Thursday, Feb. 6 at 10 p.m. on WCNY-TV
In the 1970s, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of busing children to achieve racial integration in schools. One African American teacher and principal, Dotson Burns, Jr., navigates the frustration among students and teachers at an elementary school in Maryland.
Watch Saturday, Feb. 8 at 9 p.m. on WCNY-TV
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
Watch Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 10:30 p.m. on WCNY-TV
This one-hour documentary tells the Chautauqua Institution’s story through the voices of its current patrons and partners, including those who have spoken and performed from Chautauqua’s iconic stages over the past several years.
Move When the Spirit Says Move: The Legacy of Dorothy Foreman Cotton
Watch Saturday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. on WCNY-TV
Discover the story of Dorothy Cotton, the charismatic, courageous yet often overlooked colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Her work with freedom schools, freedom songs, and messages of hope remains relevant today.
Fannie Lou Hamer’s America: An America Reframed Special
Watch Saturday, Feb. 15 at 9:30 p.m. on WCNY-TV
Through public speeches, personal interviews, and powerful songs of the fearless Mississippi sharecropper-turned-human-rights-activist, the film explores the lesser-known life of one of the Civil Rights Movement’s greatest leaders.
American Masters: The Disappearance of Miss Scott
Watch Friday, Feb. 21 at 10 p.m. on WCNY-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, she faced down the Red Scare at the risk of losing her career and was a champion for equality. The film features interviews with Mickey Guyton, Tracie Thoms, Amanda Seales, and Sheryl Lee Ralph as the voice of Hazel Scott.
Watch Saturday, Feb. 22 at 9 p.m. on WCNY-TV
Follow the journey of civil rights hero, congressman, and human rights champion John Lewis. At the Selma March, Lewis came face-toface with club-wielding troopers and exemplified non-violence. As a long-serving representative, he was considered the conscience of Congress.
American Experience: Forgotten Hero—Walter White and the NAACP
Watch Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 9:30 p.m. on WCNY-TV
Learn about the origins of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the most powerful civil rights
organization ever created, through the key figures who shaped it.
Join us for a screening of “Move When the Spirit Says Move: The Legacy of Dorothy Foreman Cotton” on Wednesday, February 5 at the WCNY-TV studios. Discover the story of Dorothy Cotton, the charismatic, courageous yet often overlooked colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Enjoy the documentary before it premieres, followed by a Q&A discussion.
The event begins at 4:30 p.m. with light refreshments, followed by the screening and discussion at 5 p.m.
There is no fee to attend the event, but registration is required.
American Experience: The Busing Battleground
“The Busing Battleground” viscerally captures the class tensions and racial violence that ensued when Black and white students in Boston were bused for the first time between neighborhoods to comply with a federal desegregation order.
American Experience: Zora Neale Hurston—Claiming a Space
Meet the influential author and key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Also a trained anthropologist, Zora Neale Hurston collected folklore throughout the South and Caribbean — reclaiming, honoring and celebrating Black life on its own terms.
American Experience: American Coup—Wilmington 1898
American Coup: Wilmington 1898 tells the little-known story of a deadly race massacre and carefully orchestrated insurrection in North Carolina’s largest city in 1898. Stoking fears of “Negro Rule,” self-described white supremacists used intimidation and violence to destroy Black political and economic power and overthrow Wilmington’s democratically-elected, multi-racial government.
Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: I am Jackie Robinson
Watch Monday, Feb. 18 at 1:30 p.m. on WCNY-TV
Jackie Robinson shows Xavier that when something isn’t right, it takes courage to change it.
Teaching Your Child About Black History
Encourage children to explore books and stories that embrace diverse cultures and ethnicities, highlighting the richness of Black history and cultural diversity throughout the entire year.
Children’s Books with Strong Black Characters
Encourage children to explore books and stories that embrace diverse cultures and ethnicities, highlighting the richness of Black history and cultural diversity throughout the entire year.
Black History Month | All About the Holidays
Grades: K-2, 3-5
The month of February honors the important role Black people play in the story of our country. Across the United States, schools and communities organize to learn more about Black history and culture. How is Black History Month recognized in your community? How do you recognize Black History throughout the year?
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott | Civil Rights Movement
Grades: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
Discover how Rosa Parks played a pivotal role igniting the modern civil rights movement. In December 1955, Parks, a Black seamstress and civil rights activist, refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white patron. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Movement.
Hip Hop, Social Justice, and Grandmaster Flash | Making Black America
Grades: 9-12
Explore hip hop as an important social commentary on issues affecting the Black community, in this clip from “Making Black America,” presented by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Accompanying classroom activities further explore the intersection of hip hop and social justice.
