SPOTLIGHT | Public media celebrates this Black History Month highlighting hip-hop’s 50th anniversary and more

The 50^th Hip-hop anniversaries are front and center this February, with public media exploring the Black experience on air and online during Black History Month.

On PBS, Public Enemy’s Chuck D is hosting a four-hour documentary series. Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World Broadcast 9:00 PM ET Tuesdays from January 31 to February 21 on PBS, and February 11th, 18th and 25th on the WORLD channel. Public media stations such as Rocky Mountain PBS and Urban Alternative stations will host The Drop104.7 in Denver. special screening.

Seattle public radio station KEXP launches weekly podcast. 50 years of hip hop, on February 1, as part of the station’s one-year celebration. In this podcast, KEXP’s editorial team and DJs feature personal reflections, iconic tracks and albums, and conversations about how it all began.

PBS SoCal/KCET has launched a digital series on hip-hop and new technology. hip hop and the metaverse.

Public media has spotlighted the breadth of the Black experience for a month, from Senegalese astrophysicists to black characters in opera. Some examples:

PBS and WORLD channels

PBS and WORLD Channel, a public television multicast channel available to three-quarters of US households, broadcast and stream a wide range of programming throughout Black History Month.

PBS is back block party, curated streaming collections, and its #BlockPartyPBS social media campaign amplify black stories and content across the PBS platform.Originally released last year American Masters (Roberta Flack), American Experience (Zora Neale Hurston: Space Claims); independent lens (person taking pictures) and the America ReFramed documentary.new episodes of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr.Select episodes from PBS Digital Studios series such as ; say out loud, If Cities Could DanceWhen the historian’s viewWORLD Channel presents an online audience guide featuring broadcast premieres and online programming.

Black-themed shows premiering on PBS and WORLD channels (times may vary, check local listings) include:

• Outta the MacThe film chronicles the history of the Dean family and its seven generations in the African-American community of Pahokee, Florida, and has brought more than a dozen players into the NFL.
• senegal star chasersfollows a team of Senegalese scientists as they set out to acquire the critical data NASA needs to navigate the Lucy mission and asteroid targets in millions of miles of space. An episode of NOVA on PBS airs on February 9th at 9pm.
• spiritual magic, Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of opera stars Kathleen Battle and Jesse Norman’s famous 1990 concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall.

• Big Chief, Blackhawk, This follows Big Chief Tee, a senior in high school and New Orleans’ youngest masked Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief, as he and the Black Hawk Hunters continue to embrace the ‘culture’ in the face of crisis and change. Celebrate the beauty and resilience of The film premiered on his February 16th at America ReFramed’s WORLD Channel, online, PBS app.

• death of two fathers, It’s from filmmaker Sol Guy, who tells a family story for two teenagers using six tapes recorded by his late father 20 years ago. The film will air on his February 23rd on his America ReFramed on the WORLD channel.

• Black Broadway: Proud History, Boundless Future Concert Special Features Black Broadway stars perform classics like “The Wiz,” “The Color Purple,” “Company,” and “Porgy & Bess,” with student choirs from Howard and Morgan State Universities. increase. The special He airs on PBS stations (check local listings) and is available online.
• PBS Voice, The documentary-focused PBS Digital Studios YouTube channel showcases three new series funded by CPB. hip hop and the metaversecreated by PBS SoCal/KCET and features Dr. Taj Frazier explores how hip-hop artists and entrepreneurs are reshaping and remixing new technologies. ceremonywill premiere on February 14 on Louisiana State Public Broadcasting and features New Orleans cultural icon Taliona “Tank” Ball. Explore the layers of meaning contained in various Southern rituals.When break ground, It premieres on February 22nd from Kansas City PBS. Danielle and Dr. Ebony Edwards, along with a lumberyard owner, a building engineer and community psychologist, are trying to revitalize their childhood neighborhood without displacing residents.

public radio/podcast

Numerous public radio stations, including more than 10 public radio stations licensed to historically black colleges and universities and six pioneers of the Urban Alternative public radio format, broadcast black history and culture throughout the year. We produce local programming that celebrates, informs and educates. , and the cultural needs of the community.

Public radio specials include:

• black enough, Exploring what it means to be “black enough,” TV and radio journalist Joshua Johnson and comedian W. Ca Mau Bell.Broadcast as a special on public radio stations nationwide in February. The special program is an episode of “The Stoop”. radiotopia A network podcast of stories from across Black Diaspora Hosted by Layla Day flower baba.Distributed by PRX.
• NPR Live Sessions, a public radio music station video website, features Black History Month. playlist, opens with Rhiannon Guidons performing “At the Purchaser’s Option” at WYEP Pittsburgh. NPR Live sessions also highlight videos each week in the home page carousel.
• Seattle Public Radio Station KEXP Launches 50 years of hip hop February 1st, part of the station’s annual celebration. Our weekly podcasts feature KEXP’s editorial team and DJs discussing personal reflections, iconic tracks and albums, and how it all began.

Terrance McKnight, Julie Yarbrough Photography

• New York Public Radio Classic Station WQXR Launches Every Voice by Terrance McKnight, a 16-episode podcast about figures from marginalized communities in the classical field. “Seeing the representations of black people that have been handed down to us through the operatic tradition, we will interrogate these characters who continue to appear season after season on operatic stages around the world, and pay tribute to the black performers who have played these roles. I wanted to. McKnight, in which he picks up four characters from the operas of Mozart and Verdi.
• Atlanta Jazz Station WCLK will air a series of vignettes focusing on African-American contributions to American history, looking at “who is making black history now.”
• WXPN in Philadelphia each weekday in February Introducing different black musicians from the past and present. The lives, careers and music of artists such as Ray Charles, Lauryn Hill, Aretha Franklin, The Roots, Jimi Hendrix, Grace Jones, Marvin Gaye and more are explored daily at 6am.
• All hosts and shows at WFUV in New York are Paying tribute to black artists and their stories, each hour offers a wide range of artists and deep cuts. WFUV will also feature black artists at all live events, with special coverage of Nina Simone and Philly Soul Music.
• KUTX Austin is Featuring eight Black History Month features from KUTX producer Miles Bloxson. They explore the contributions of African Americans to the Austin music scene, past and present.
• colorado public radio Indie 102.3 airs hits by influential black musicians and features black artists on nightly programming throughout February. Indie 102.3 is also compiled Power to the Music Vol. 3a 50-song Spotify playlist of “black musicians across genres and generations who talk about empowerment, love, blackness and beyond.”

Other highlights

StoryCorps’ conversations heard on NPR’s Morning Edition are available online at Black history month story collectionincluding AniMessages, audio clips, and behind-the-scenes information related to broadcast and podcast episodes.

The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB), a joint organization of the Library of Congress and GBH in Boston, is a collection of historically significant public media programming and raw interview footage from the past 60 years, including extensive footage from the civil rights era. It hosts an extensive collection of . .

Started over a decade ago by the Public Broadcasting Authority, AAPB is racing against time to preserve public radio and television content. Americanarchive.org

Content added over the past year includes unedited interviews from the 1986 Emmy Award-winning documentary black champion, It chronicles the lives and achievements of black athletes throughout the 20th century, with a focus on combating discrimination and racial barriers in American sports.Unedited interviews recorded by Henry Hampton and Blackside Productions for groundbreaking documentary Eyes on the Prize II; ofAbout 250 programs and segments from d WHUT-TV at Howard University From 1981 to 2008. AAPB has also added three multimedia primary source discussion sets: black power movement, Buses in Boston, 1974-1988 When The Great Depression and the Southern Peasants.

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