KET Resources Related to
African-American History and Culture

Upcoming Broadcasts | KET/Kentucky Videos
Other ITV Productions | KET and PBS Web Resources

Check our TV Schedules for upcoming broadcasts of the following programs. Some also air on our in-school schedule on Star Channel 703/KET3; see our online ITV catalog for more information. Kentucky schools may request a KET3 broadcast by e-mailing itv@ket.org.

KET/Kentucky Videos

Many of the KET-produced programs in the following list are available on tape from KET Tape Duplication. For information, call (800) 945-9167 or e-mail tapes@ket.org.

• Afro-American Physicians in Lexington 1895-1950
  During the first half of the 20th century, Lexington had a large percentage of African-American doctors relative to its population. This program highlights their experiences and contributions.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 9-adult
  (30 minutes)
  


• The Arts II: West African Dance
  This content-rich professional development program deepens teachers’ knowledge of West African dance with step-by-step instructions and explanations of the cultural meanings of the movements.
  KET production; for teachers of grades P-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• The Arts III: Afro-Cuban Dance
  This professional development program demonstrates some of the dance and drum traditions of Cuba.
  KET production; for teachers of grades P-12
  (40 minutes)
  


• At Leisure’s Edge: A Journey Through Kentucky’s Historic Black Parks
  From 1942 to 1956, Kentucky city park systems were segregated by state mandate. This program takes a look at seven historically black parks and explores how the African-American communities in those cities used the public spaces of parks to construct uplifting community identities despite segregation.
  Produced by Boyd Shearer with support from the KET Fund for Independent Production; for general audience plus grades 9-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• bookclub@ket
  Each month, host Bill Goodman and four guests discuss an interesting book by a Kentucky author. Books by African-American authors or on related subjects have included Passing for Black, Wade Hall’s biography of Mae Street Kidd; the poetry collections Affrilachia by Frank X Walker and Rice by Nikky Finney; Crystal Wilkinson’s short-story collections Blackberries, Blackberries and Water Street; Clotel, or, The President’s Daughter by William Wells Brown, the first novel by an African-American author; Gayl Jones’s novel The Healing; and Steven Weisenburger’s Modern Medea, a historical study of the true story that inspired Toni Morrison’s Beloved.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 9-12
  (ongoing series; 30 minutes each)
  


• Coal Black Voices
  This documentary features the work of the Affrilachian Poets, an ensemble of African-American and minority writers from Appalachia and the South who challenge the notions of an all-white region and culture and celebrate their African heritage and rural roots while encompassing themes of racism and black identity.
  Produced by Jean Donohue and Fred Johnson with support from the KET Fund for Independent Production; for general audience plus grades 9-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• DanceSense
  This series, based on Kentucky’s Core Content, explores why people dance, the elements of dance, dance styles, dance in a multicultural and historical context, and dance as an art form. It uses performance, archival photographs and film footage, and interviews with dancers and choreographers to capture dance’s emotion and energy and to stimulate students’ interest, understanding, and appreciation. Program 3 focuses specifically on African-American dance.
  KET production; for grades 5-10
  (10 15-minute programs)
  


• Dancing Threads: Community Dances from Africa to Zuni
  Outstanding performers teach traditional Appalachian, African-American, and Native American dances and play party games. An interview with the performer gives the historical and cultural contexts of the dance. Program 2 features Paula Larke teaching “Little Johnny Brown” and covers African games and oral traditions, the arrival of Africans in America, and the lives of enslaved African Americans.
  KET production; for grades P-8
  (4 30-minute programs)
  


• Ellis Wilson—So Much To Paint
  This program documents a little-known artist from Mayfield, Kentucky who captured the beauty and dignity of ordinary black people in more than 300 paintings. Born in 1899, Wilson had to leave Kentucky to study art because the segregated black colleges of the time offered only industrial and agricultural studies. After completing his studies at the famous School of the Art Institute in Chicago, he moved to New York, where he would live and work for the next 40 years. However, it wasn’t until one of his paintings was featured on an episode of The Cosby Show in 1985 that interest in his work was revived.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 9-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• An Evening with Richard Davis and Friends
  This jazz performance features bassist Richard Davis with Ricky Ford on sax, Andrew Cyrille on drums, Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet, and John Hicks on piano.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 9-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• The Great Kentucky Gospel Shout Out
  This program highlights a rousing evening of gospel music—which from slavery to the civil rights movement has played a vital role in the African-American struggle for equal rights—and the presentation of the Freedom Award, given to an individual whose life has mirrored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideals.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 7-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• Great Leaders: The Black Odyssey of Lyman Johnson
  This program celebrates the civil rights work of Lyman Johnson, whose 1948 federal lawsuit resulted in the integration of the University of Kentucky.
  Produced by WKPC-TV (now part of KET); for general audience plus grades 8-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• In Performance at the Governor’s Mansion
  This recurring showcase of Kentucky’s best and brightest performers features music, dance, dramatic readings, poetry, and more. Performers have included soprano Vertrelle Cameron-Mickens; tenor Everett McCorvey; mezzo-soprano Alicia Helm; jazz singer Gayle King; gospel singers Alma Randolph and the Northern Kentucky Brotherhood; jazz musicians Cliff Jackson, Ray Johnson, and Lionel Hampton; the River City Drum Corp; and poets Nikky Finney and Frank X Walker. Visit the web site to search by performer.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 7-12
  (ongoing series; 60 minutes each)
  


• Jubilee
  This performance series features nationally known singers along with seasoned local musicians from Kentucky’s summer music festivals, including African-American blues, R&B, and gospel performers. Visit the web site to search by performer.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 4-12
  (ongoing series; 60 minutes each)
  


• Kentucky Author Forum Presents
  Taped at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, these interviews with noted authors have included athlete Carl Lewis, social activist Vernon Jordan, and musician Wynton Marsalis.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 7-12
  (ongoing series; 60 minutes each)
  
  
• Kentucky Chautauqua
  George T. Vaughn portrays Rev. Elisha Green, a former slave who became a Baptist minister and fought for civil rights, in this collection of performances of characters from Kentucky history.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 7-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• Kentucky Life
  This ongoing KET production travels Kentucky in search of interesting people, places, and ideas. African Americans and related topics profiled in the series have included sculptor Ed Hamilton, Chautauqua performer Hasan Davis, the Negro Leagues’ Lexington Hustlers, Camp Nelson, the Emma Reno Connor Black History Gallery, and the Affrilachians—African Americans raised in Eastern Kentucky. Visit the web site to search by topic.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 4-12
  (ongoing series; 30 minutes each)
  


• Kentucky’s Story
  This series presents a re-creation of what life was like in Kentucky at different times in history through the eyes of a 10-year-old child. Program 5 shows some of the problems and conflicts associated with slavery. Program 7 features the story of an African-American woman who graduates from Berea with high hopes of teaching but faces the harsh reality of racism.
  KET production; for grades 4-5
  (9 15-minute programs)
  


• Kentucky’s Underground Railroad—Passage to Freedom
  This documentary features stories of bravery and resourcefulness on the part of both slaves who risked their lives in the attempt to reach freedom in the North and free blacks and white abolitionists who tried to help them. Teachers can use the entire program or selected segments to illustrate Kentucky’s role in the story of slavery, abolitionism, and the Underground Railroad.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 4-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• Kentucky’s Underground Railroad—Professional Development Series
  This four-part series enriches the teaching of Kentucky and U.S. history by giving teachers a deeper understanding of pre-Civil War Kentucky history and enslaved African Americans’ quest for freedom.
  KET production; for teachers of grades P-12
  (4 30-minute programs)
  


• Ladies of Note
  Singers Nnenna Freelon, Lainie Kazan, and Melba Moore perform jazz, pop, and Broadway hits.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 6-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky
  This documentary, part of a multimedia project of the Kentucky Oral History Commission, features Kentuckians who took part in the civil rights movement sharing their own stories of the struggle for justice and equal treatment. It is designed to give a feel for the times, to explain some of the issues that were particularly important in Kentucky, and to inspire young people by showing how people their age have made a difference in society.
  Produced by Video Editing Services; for general audience plus grades 6-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• Living the Story: The Rest of the Story
  This series features extended interviews with 11 key figures from the Living the Story documentary: Mervin Aubespin, Julian Bond, Gov. Edward Breathitt, James Howard, J. Blaine Hudson, John Jay Johnson, Abby Marlatt, P.G. Peeples, Sen. Georgia Davis Powers, Jennie Wilson, and Alice Wilson.
  Produced by Video Editing Services and the Kentucky Historical Society; for general audience plus grades 6-12
  (10 60-minute programs)
  


• Looking at Painting
  This documentary features interviews with Kentucky artists; visits to their studios; and discussions of techniques, elements, and principles in selected paintings. The artists include African Americans Sam Gilliam and Mark Priest.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 9-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• Old Music for New Ears
  This series introduces children to a broad range of music and cultures, including African-American traditions. It offers opportunities for children to sing along with the legendary Odetta, blues great Taj Mahal, and a host of others. All lyrics are in the teacher’s guide, available at our guides download page.
  KET production; for grades P-8
  (22 15-minute programs)
  


• Richard Davis on Jazz
  Renowned bassist Richard Davis hosts a series of informal discussion/performance sessions designed to introduce students, teachers, and the community to jazz music, its history and pioneers, and its contributions to American life and culture.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 5-12
  (6 60-minute programs)
  


• Sing Out for Freedom
  The Freedom Singers are one of the best known of the singing groups who traveled the U.S. in the 1950s and ’60s spreading the civil rights message. This program includes highlights of the Freedom Singers’ 1993 concert in Louisville—inspirational gospel, call-to-action songs, and ballads, all sung a cappella—and interviews.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 7-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• Signature
  This series profiles Kentucky and other Appalachian writers, including African-American playwright and stage director George C. Wolfe, author of the play The Colored Museum and winner of a Tony Award for directing the Broadway production Angels in America.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 9-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• Telling Tales
  This series features stories told by master storytellers, including African Americans Mama Yaa and John O’Neal.
  KET production; for grades P-8
  (16 15-minute programs)
  


• Tour of Kentucky Folk Music
  This program includes performances by the Edwards Sisters (gospel), Robert Phillips and the Fender Benders (blues), the Mighty Gospel Harmonizers, H-Bomb Ferguson (blues), and the Northern Kentucky Brotherhood (gospel).
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 4-12
  (4 one-hour programs)
  


• Winter: Season of Darkness and Light
  This program is a multicultural exploration of the way the winter season is celebrated in America and how these celebrations have been changed, merged, assimilated, or forgotten over generations. Through music and stories, artists explain the traditions associated with their cultures, including Kwanzaa.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 4-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• Words Like Freedom/Sturdy Black Bridges
  This “poetic concert” features African-American writing and music. Words Like Freedom focuses on the significant role of African-American women in the struggle for racial justice and opens with Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” speech. Sturdy Black Bridges explores the trials and triumphs of black womanhood through the words of African-American women writers.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 9-12
  (60 minutes)
  


• World of Our Own: Kentucky Folkways
  A series of programs highlights people from different Kentucky communities who preserve aspects of traditional culture in their work, play, art, and religious lives, including multiple segments featuring African-American artisans and folkways. Visit the web site for more information.
  KET production; for general audience plus grades 8-12
  (8 30-minute programs)

Other ITV Productions

• America’s Special Days
  This series helps students understand and appreciate why we celebrate certain days commonly referred to as “holidays,” including Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month.
  for grades P-3
  (10 15-minute programs)
  


• Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips
  Using sites at Colonial Williamsburg as a backdrop, as well as other resources at the restored Virginia settlement, this continuing series of field trips explores social and political issues in early American history, including slavery.
  for grades 4-12
  (ongoing series; 60 minutes each)
  


• Events of the 20th Century
  This series provides insight into the major historical events of the 20th century by blending archival footage and interviews to give students a unique look at the momentous occurrences of the period, including excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s most stirring speeches and recollections of people who knew him well and an intimate conversation with Rosa Parks, who sparked the Montgomery, AL bus boycott.
  for grades 7-12
  (8 15-minute programs)
  


• Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence
  For more than 65 years, painter Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) was both an impassioned observer and a chronicler of the struggle for freedom and justice by black Americans. His works draw on subjects from the Civil War to the great African-American migration from the rural South to the urban North to the civil rights movement. Curators at the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City take students through an exhibition of Lawrence’s works and explore both his artistic evolution and experimentation and the historical events reflected in the works.
  for grades 5-9
  (92 minutes)
  


• The Road to Freedom: A Documentary History of African Americans
  This comprehensive collection of award-winning documentaries traces the struggles of African Americans to gain rights in the areas of education, work, and full legal equality under the Constitution. These “hidden histories” tell stories of great leaders—Charles Houston, “the man who killed Jim Crow;” labor leader A. Philip Randolph; and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—and trace the cultural and social dimensions of racism.
  for grades 10-12
  (7 40- to 60-minute programs)
  


• Wrapped in Pride: The Story of Kente in America
  This program explores how kente cloth crossed the Atlantic Ocean from the Republic of Ghana to become part of everyday American life. Available on videotape from New Jersey Network Viewer Services, (800) 882-6622.
  for grades 8-12
  (30 minutes)

KET and PBS Web Resources

• African American World
  A new portal on PBS.org devoted to African-American history and culture, including personal narratives by historical figures, artworks, PBS lesson plans, and an interactive game for students.
  (www.pbs.org/aaworld)
  


• American Experience
  Programs from this acclaimed history series related to African-American history and culture have included “Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory,” “Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind,” “Scottsboro: An American Tragedy,” “The Murder of Emmett Till,” and “Partners of the Heart.”
  (www.pbs.org/amex)
  


• bookclub@ket
  (www.ket.org/bookclub)
  


• DanceSense
  (www.ket.org/dancesense)
  


• Ellis Wilson—So Much To Paint
  (www.ket.org/elliswilson)
  


• Kentucky’s Underground Railroad—Passage to Freedom
  (www.ket.org/underground)
  


• Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky
  (www.ket.org/civilrights)
  


• Looking at Painting
  (www.ket.org/painting)

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