February is Black History Month—a month dedicated to celebrating and honoring the culture, history, leadership, and experiences of Black Americans. While Black History Month was not officially recognized until 1976, its origins date back to 1915 when historian Carter G. Woodsen and the prominent minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. The group began sponsoring a national Negro History week in 1926, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. By the late 1960s, it had evolved into Black History Month on many college campuses. Gerald Ford became the first president to acknowledge Black History month in 1976, the same year that the United States celebrated its bicentennial anniversary of freedom, independence, and self-governance.
This month, we invite you to celebrate Black History Month along with WTIU, while making the most of your PBS Passport benefit. From American Experience and Ken Burns documentaries to Independent Lens and American Masters, PBS offers a vast array of programs that combine to tell the story of Black America. The breadth of options is too long to list here—so today we feature 10 shows that expire soon on Passport, making Black History Month the perfect time to take them in!
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code
This episode of Independent Lens tells the story of the tragic 1995 Chicago heatwave, the most traumatic in U.S. history, in which 739 citizens died over the course of a single week, most of them poor, elderly, and Black. Cooked: Survival by Zip Code is a story about life, death, and the politics of crisis in an American city that asks the question: Was this a one-time tragedy, or an appalling trend? This powerful program expires very soon, so be sure to watch before it leaves Passport on February 3, 2023.
Finding Your Roots: Freedom Tales
Beloved host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. delves deep into the roots of two African American guests, Emmy award-winning actor S. Epatha Merkerson and athlete, journalist, and television personality Michael Strahan. Both discover unexpected stories that challenge assumptions about Black history. Use your WTIU PBS Passport benefit to see this episode of Finding Your Roots before it expires on February 5, 2023.
Antiques Roadshow Special: Celebrating Black Americana
This special episode of Antiques Roadshow features an 1821 U. S. citizenship certificate for George Barker, a free man of color; an African American beauty book written by Indiana’s own Madam C.J. Walker, America’s first female millionaire; and a 1929 sculpture entitled Gamin, created by Harlem Renaissance artist Augusta Savage. First aired in 2015, this episode expires soon, so be sure to watch before it leaves Passport on February 6, 2023.
American Experience: The Fight
On June 22, 1938, 70,000 fans crammed into Yankee Stadium to watch what some have called “the most important sporting event in history”—the rematch of Black heavyweight Joe Louis and his German opponent Max Schmeling. Tune in to this episode of American Experience with your WTIU PBS Passport benefit to learn more about this historic moment before it expires on February 10, 2023.
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Master documentarian Stanley Nelson goes straight to the source, weaving a treasure trove of rare archival footage with the diverse group of voices of the people who were there: police, FBI informants, journalists, white supporters and detractors, and Black Panthers who remained loyal to the party and those who left it. This episode of Independent Lens sheds light on the Black Panther Party and all its reviled, adored, misunderstood, and mythologized history. See it before it leaves Passport on February 15, 2023.
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Discover the man behind the legend on this episode of American Masters . With full access to the Miles Davis Estate, the film features never-before-seen footage, including studio outtakes from his recording sessions, rare photos, and new interviews. Be sure to use your WTIU PBS Passport benefit before February 24, 2023, to see how Miles Davis’s version of cool came to be.
Allison Russell on Austin City Limits
Montreal-to-Nashville singer/songwriter, poet, activist, and multi-instrumentalist Allison Russell offers intelligent and impassioned music on this episode of Austin City Limits. The critically acclaimed Russell performs resilient and inspiring songs from her 3-time Grammy nominated 2021 debut album Outside Child. The album was named Album of Year in 2022 by both the American Music Honors and Awards and the Folk Alliance Awards. This episode of ACL expires May 1, 2023. Be sure to experience this captivating performance before it leaves Passport!
The Conversation Remix: For Our Girls
Part of PBS Short Film Festival , “For Our Girls” is a love letter from mothers to daughters and explores the stigmas Black girls face as they grow up within and outside their community. Through interviews, mothers share concerns with how they are shaping and impacting their daughters’ independence, acknowledging the sacred, and, at times, tense relationship mothers and daughters share as they face challenges and accept each other’s flaws. See this extraordinary short film before it leaves Passport on July 12, 2023.
The Conversation Remix: Learning to Breathe
Another selection from the PBS Short Film Festival is this sequel to the 2015 documentary “A Conversation About Growing Up Black,” in which boys, teens, and young men shared their thoughts about race in America. Five years later, the young men return to compare how their relationships with racial justice, systemic racism, and social inequity and inequality have changed following the death of George Floyd. Use your WTIU PBS Passport benefit to hear these voices before Learning to Breathe leaves Passport on July 12, 2023.
The Cavern Sessions: Gangstagrass
While this episode of The Cavern Sessions remains available through your WTIU PBS Passport benefit until the end of this year, Black History Month seems a fitting time to experience this uniquely Black American sound. Old school hip-hop meets bluegrass in the band Gangstagrass led by “Rappalachian” mastermind Rench. The group’s “Long Hard Times to Come” won a national audience as the theme for Elmore Leonard’s classic television series Justified. Gangstagrass has successfully mined its unlikely mashup, finding common ground on the dance floors of both rural and urban America.