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Black History Month | February 2023

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All of central Illinois is invited to learn, celebrate and take action for change through programs spotlighting the Black experience in America. Shape your viewing schedule from a wide range of local and PBS programs you won’t find anywhere else.

MAKING BLACK AMERICA 
THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE, EPISODES 1 & 2
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 8 AND 9 PM

A four-part series (concludes February 10) from executive producer, host and writer Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. examining the world of Black Americans beyond the “white gaze.”

 Episode 1, Building Black America

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Fri, 02/03/2023 @ 8 PM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Sat, 02/04/2023 @ 12 AM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Mon, 02/06/2023 @ 2 AM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Mon, 02/20/2023 @ 6 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Mon, 02/20/2023 @ 11 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Tue, 02/21/2023 @ 7 AM


Episode 2, The Work of the Imagination

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Fri, 02/03/2023 @ 9 PM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Sat, 02/04/2023 @ 1 AM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Mon, 02/20/2023 @ 7 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Tue, 02/21/2023 @ 12 AM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Tue, 02/21/2023 @ 8 AM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Sun, 02/26/2023 @ 4 AM

SELF MADE WITH DEE BROWN CEO SPECIAL
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 6 PM

A special local production spotlights men and women who have found personal and business success through vision, hard-work and perseverance.
 

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Sun, 02/05/2023 @ 6 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Fri, 02/17/2023 @ 7 PM

INDEPENDENT LENS
OUTTA THE MUCK
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 9 PM

The people of Pahokee rise “outta the muck” to celebrate family history and big-time football.
 

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Mon, 02/06/2023 @ 9 PM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Wed, 02/08/2023 @ 2 AM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Wed, 02/08/2023 @ 6:30 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Wed, 02/08/2023 @ 11:30 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Thu, 02/09/2023 @ 7:30 AM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Sat, 02/11/2023 @ 11 AM

MAKING BLACK AMERICA
THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE, EPISODES 3 & 4
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 8 AND 9 PM

The conclusion of Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s examination of the world of Black Americans beyond the “white gaze.”

 

Episode 3, A Growing Resistance

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Fri, 02/10/2023 @ 8 PM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Sat, 02/11/2023 @ 12 AM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Mon, 02/13/2023 @ 2 AM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Mon, 02/27/2023 @ 6 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Mon, 02/27/2023 @ 11 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Tue, 02/28/2023 @ 7 AM

 

Episode 4, Life Beyond the Veil

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Fri, 02/10/2023 @ 9 PM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Sat, 02/11/2023 @ 1 AM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Mon, 02/27/2023 @ 7 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Tue, 02/28/2023 @ 12 AM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Tue, 02/28/2023 @ 8 AM

AN ANSWER FROM AKRON
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 6 PM

How local members of Alpha Phi Alpha battled racial barriers and ultimately succeeded in building affordable housing for those in need.

 

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Sun, 02/12/2023 @ 6 PM

THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE: 
THE LEGACY OF FANNIE LOU HAMER
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 10:30 PM

A sharecropper in 1960s Mississippi becomes an activist for millions of African Americans seeking the right to vote.

 

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Mon, 02/13/2023 @ 10:30 PM

FIGHT THE POWER
HOW HIP HOP CHANGED THE WORLD: UNDER SIEGE
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 8 PM

Chuck D from Public Enemy explores Hip Hop’s political awakening over the last 50 years.
 

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Tue, 02/14/2023 @ 8 PM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Wed, 02/15/2023 @ 12 AM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Sat, 02/18/2023 @ 7 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Sat, 02/18/2023 @ 11 PM

THOMAS SOWELL: 
COMMON SENSE IN A SENSELESS WORLD
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 9 PM


The story of one of this era's greatest authors on race, history and economics, as told by the Wall Street Journal's Jason Riley.

 

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Wed, 02/15/2023 @ 9 PM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Thu, 02/16/2023 @ 1 AM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Fri, 02/17/2023 @ 2 AM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Sun, 02/19/2023 @ 1 AM

HOLLYWOOD’S ARCHITECT: THE PAUL R. WILLIAMS STORY
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 9 PM


Paul R. Williams defied the odds to become one of the most notable architects in history.
 

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Thu, 02/16/2023 @ 9 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Sat, 02/25/2023 @ 6 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Mon, 02/27/2023 @ 4 AM

FIGHT THE POWER 
HOW HIP HOP CHANGED THE WORLD: CULTURE WARS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 8 PM

In the 1990s, the unstoppable rise of Hip Hop and its attack on the political establishment.

 

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Tue, 02/21/2023 @ 8 PM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Wed, 02/22/2023 @ 12 AM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Sat, 02/25/2023 @ 7 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Sat, 02/25/2023 @ 11 PM

FIGHT THE POWER 
HOW HIP HOP CHANGED THE WORLD: STILL FIGHTING
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 9 PM


Follow the evolution of Hip Hop as its artists turn into multimillionaires and successful entrepreneurs. Hip Hop continues to change history as a cultural phenomenon and is adopted as the voice of protest worldwide.

 

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Tue, 02/21/2023 @ 9 PM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Wed, 02/22/2023 @ 1 AM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Sat, 02/25/2023 @ 8 PM
  • WTVP-WORLD 47.3 - Sun, 02/26/2023 @ 12 AM

 

JIM CROW OF THE NORTH
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 9 PM

The history and impact of racist real estate covenants in the Twin Cities.
 

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Thu, 02/23/2023 @ 9 PM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Fri, 02/24/2023 @ 2 AM

GREAT PERFORMANCES
THE MAGIC OF SPIRITUALS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 8 PM

Glimpse behind the curtain at opera legends Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman’s famed concert at Carnegie Hall in 1990, featuring performance clips and new interviews.

 

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Fri, 02/24/2023 @ 8 PM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Sat, 02/25/2023 @ 12 AM
Great Performances

Composer Evelyn Simpson Curenton on "Spirituals in Concert"

2:05
Published:

Composer Evelyn Simpson Curenton discusses how she composed "Spirituals in Concert."

MARIAN ANDERSON: ONCE IN A HUNDRED YEARS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 9:30 PM

Marian Anderson was a gifted African American singer who had to surmount innumerable, unwarranted obstacles before eventually achieving her dream.

 

  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Fri, 02/24/2023 @ 9:30 PM
  • WTVP-HD 47.1 - Sat, 02/25/2023 @ 1:30 AM