Happy Thanksgiving
Celebrate Black History
Explore this collection of national and local programs honoring key historical events and cultural contributions of Black Americans.
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African American Lives 2
Maya Angelou shares the story of learning about her Mende heritage during an interview with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

AfroPop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange
This series is at the forefront in bringing informative and entertaining films about modern life in the African Diaspora to television audiences in the U.S.

American Experience: Goin’ Back to T-Town
Learn about the Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa — once a flourishing Black community in the 1920s and 30s despite rampant and hostile segregation.

American Experience: Voice of Freedom
Marian Anderson performs at the Lincoln Memorial after being barred from singing at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Austin City Limits: Allen Toussaint: New Orleans Legend
Enjoy a vintage performance with New Orleans soul songwriter, producer and musician Allen Toussaint.

Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise (Parts 1 and 2)
In this series, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. studies the last 50 years of African American history.

The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song
This intimate two-part, four-hour series from Henry Louis Gates, Jr., explores the 400-year-old story of the black church in America.

Black in Appalachia
Learn about a project that showcases the contributions of Black communities of the Mountain South.

Black in Blue
Learn the story of four African American football players at the University of Kentucky who broke the color line in the Southeastern Conference in the 1960s.

Black Women Writers Forum
Writers Nikky Finney, Crystal Wilkinson and Bianca Lynne Spriggs discuss the experiences of and challenges faced by Black women in the South. Renee Shaw moderates.

Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America
Discover how the automobile brought mobility and freedom for African Americans but also exposed them to discrimination and violence, and how that history resonates today.

Finding Your Roots: Write My Name in the Book of Life
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps musician Pharrell Williams and filmmaker Kasi Lemmons uncover extraordinarily rare first-person accounts of their enslaved ancestors.

Great Conversations: Jessye Norman and Gloria Steinem
Opera singer Jessye Norman discusses her memoir “Stand Up Straight and Sing!”. She is interviewed by Gloria Steinem, feminist activist and co-founder of Ms. magazine.

Great Performances: “Twilight: Los Angeles”
Award-winning director Marc Levin weaves Anna Deavere Smith’s stage performance about the 1992 L.A. riots with news footage and interviews to create a portrait of rage, sorrow, loss, and battered hope.

Independent Lens: Mr. SOUL!
Celebrate SOUL!, the public television variety program that shared Black culture with the nation.

Kentucky’s Underground Railroad — Passage to Freedom
An account of the fugitive slave movement in Kentucky, focusing on those who lived in Kentucky and sought to escape to the North. A 2000 KET production.

The Talk: Race in America
This film discusses the conversation taking place across the country between parents of color and their children about how to behave if they are ever stopped by the police.

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story
This is the story of a Philadelphia clerk who risked his life shepherding runaway slaves to freedom in the years leading up to America’s Civil War.
For Passport Members

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross
Presented and written by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., this six-hour series takes viewers on a journey across two continents and five centuries to explore the transition of African Americans.

Dave Chappelle: The Mark Twain Prize
An outstanding lineup of entertainers gathers in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to salute Dave Chappelle, recipient of the 22nd annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Jackie Robinson — Parts 1 and 2
Jack Roosevelt Robinson rose from humble origins to cross baseball’s color line and become one of the most beloved men in America. A fierce integrationist, Robinson used his immense fame to speak out against the discrimination he saw on and off the field.

Jazz — A Ken Burns series
Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns takes an in-depth look at jazz, the most original American art form, in this miniseries.

John Lewis – Get in the Way
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.

The Long Song on Masterpiece
This three-part series based on Andrea Levy’s award-winning novel follows a slave and her mistress. Their lives change when a new overseer sets out to improve plantation life.

Tina Turner: One Last Time
In 2000, Tina Turner’s final UK concert was filmed at London’s Wembley Stadium with a state-of-the-art stage set, 18 cameras, and one of the world’s top directors. Turner’s inspiring, powerful performance made it an unforgettable event.

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
Follow Jack Johnson’s remarkable journey from his humble beginnings in Galveston, Texas, as the son of former slaves, to the world of professional boxing.