WETA Celebrates Black History Month

Friday, February 2 at 4pm

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.

Friday, February 2 at 9pm

Experience the meteoric rise and enduring legacy of Little Richard. This portrait of the “King and Queen of Rock and Roll” explores his far-reaching influence as well as his advocacy for the rights of Black artists in the music industry.

Repeats Sat 2/3, 10pm; Sun 2/4, 11pm

Sunday, February 4 at 4pm

Voice of Freedom interweaves Marian Anderson’s rich life story with this landmark moment in history, exploring fundamental questions about talent, race, fame, democracy, and the American soul.

Monday, February 5 at 9:30pm

Host Felicia Curry conducts an exclusive interview with mezzo-soprano superstar Denyce Graves, whose foundation works to promote equity and inclusion in American classical vocal arts. Viewers also meet Kat Arias, a professional choreographer/instructor for the Latin dance style bachata. Plus, a special segment about Alma Thomas, the influential D.C. artist and educator.

Repeats Tue 2/6, 4:30pm; Mon 2/19, 9:30pm; Tue 2/20, 4:30pm

Monday, February 5 at 10pm 

During Reconstruction, free Blacks purchased land once worked on by the enslaved and built Barry Farm, one of DC's first thriving Black communities. It would become home to a sprawling public housing complex, the launching grounds for the Welfare Rights movement, and one of the birthplaces of the city's Go-Go music scene. Now, its once again empty fields are a gold mine for developers.

Repeats Fri 2/9, 4pm

Tuesday, February 6 at 8pm 

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the roots of journalist Sunny Hostin and actor Jesse Williams discover ancestors from very diverse places.

Repeats Wed 2/7, 4pm; Sat 2/10, 12m; Sun 2/11, 3pm

Tuesday, February 6 at 9pm 

A documentary that tells the inspiring story of how six iconic African American women entertainers – Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier – challenged an entertainment industry deeply complicit in perpetuating racist stereotypes, and transformed themselves and their audiences in the process.

Repeats Sat 2/10, 10pm; Sun 2/11, 11pm

Friday, February 9 at 9pm

GOSPEL Live! Presented by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is a concert celebration honoring the legacy of Gospel music in America. As a companion to GOSPEL, hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., secular and gospel artists sing their favorite gospel classics.

Saturday, February 10 at 8pm

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, angering fans, the press, and even teammates who had once celebrated him for “turning the other cheek.”

Sunday, February 11 at 4pm

Follow music icon Roberta Flack from a piano lounge through her rise to stardom. From “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” to “Killing Me Softly,” Flack’s virtuosity was inseparable from her commitment to civil rights. Detailing her story in her own words, the film features exclusive access to Flack’s archives and interviews with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Peabo Bryson and more.

Sunday, February 11 at 5:30pm

WETA Arts celebrates Black History Month with a special episode about Alma Thomas, the remarkable Black artist and educator who helped shape the Washington, D.C. arts scene in the 20th century. Thomas’ art provided her nationwide acclaim. Yet even as her national recognition continues, it’s in her hometown where her impact as an educator, pioneer, advocate and role model can be felt daily.

Monday, February 12 at 9pm

GOSPEL’s hour 1 takes viewers north to Chicago, where southern migrants Thomas A. Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe fused blues and jazz with testimonies of God’s goodness to create a genre enduring for generations.

Repeats Sun 2/18, 1pm; Sat 2/24, 7:30pm; Sun 2/25, 7am, 12m

Tuesday, February 13 at 4pm

For decades, Washington, DC has been a beacon for Black culture and community. Now, a wave of economic and cultural gentrification is occurring at breakneck speed threatening to erase this history. Go-Go City follows protesters for racial justice as they took to the streets in summer 2020, rallying around the city’s unique Go-Go music scene as they strive to make their voices heard.

Tuesday, February 13 at 8pm

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps musician Dionne Warwick and actor Danielle Brooks break down the barriers imposed by slavery to learn the names and stories of their ancestors who endured bondage. Facing one of the greatest genealogical challenges, Gates uses his detective skills to piece together the lives of women and men who survived unimaginable ordeals—but emerged to forge families that thrived.

Repeats Wed 2/14, 4pm; Sat 2/17, 12m

Tuesday, February 13 at 9pm

Starting in the 40s, GOSPEL’s hour 2 explores the Golden Age of Gospel — the dramatic explosion of Black sacred music and the segregated highways of the American South — which took the Lord’s music into the mainstream.

Repeats Sun 2/18, 3:30pm

Wednesday, February 14 at 10pm 

Follow a team of forensic experts as they investigate the preserved remains of a young African American woman from 19th-century New York and reveal the little-known story of early America’s free Black communities.

Repeats Thur 2/15, 4pm

Friday, February 16 at 10:30pm

Glimpse behind the curtain at opera legends Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman’s famed concert at Carnegie Hall on March 18, 1990, featuring performance clips and new interviews with opera star Angel Blue, Met Opera General Manager Peter Gelb and more.

Saturday, February 17 at 8pm 

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, angering fans, the press, and even teammates who had once celebrated him for “turning the other cheek.”

Repeats Sun 2/18, 12m

Saturday, February 17 at 10pm

Discover how the advent of the automobile brought new mobility and freedom for African Americans but also exposed them to discrimination and deadly violence, and how that history resonates today.

Tuesday, February 20 at 8pm 

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the family trees of comedian Tracy Morgan & actor Anthony Ramos—two native New Yorkers whose roots stretch to surprising places and contain inspiring stories. Moving from the Canary Islands to battlefields in Europe & Asia to slave plantations in Virginia, long-lost records reveal ancestors who laid the groundwork for Tracy and Anthony’s success by fighting to survive.

Repeats Wed 2/21, 4pm