Specials highlight black history

Contra Costa Times

Black History Month is here, and television, as usual, is planning to honor the occasion with programming that highlights the vast contributions made to society and culture by African-Americans.

Here are some highlights:

“Independent Lens: When I Rise”: A profile of Barbara Smith Conrad, a gifted music student who struggled against the odds to reach the heights of international opera. 11 p.m. Feb. 8, PBS.

“Modern Black History Heroes”: A series of “106 & Park” specials devoted to contemporary “unsung heroes. 6 p.m. Fridays beginning Feb. 11 and airing through the month, BET.

“Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans”: A tour of one of America’s oldest black neighborhoods and the birthplace of jazz. 4 p.m. Feb. 12, PBS.

“Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Beyond I Have a Dream”: This special examines how some of Martin Luther King’s other words still are affecting kids today. 9 p.m. Feb. 13, Nickelodeon.

“Oprah Presents Master Class with Condoleezza Rice”: The intimate biography series focuses on the life lessons of the Stanford professor and former secretary of state. 10 p.m. Feb. 13, OWN.

“Independent Lens: Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene”: The story of America’s first shock-jock, a black man in a white man’s profession who became a leading activist on his uncensored radio and TV shows during the 1960s and ’70s. 11 p.m. Feb. 15, PBS.

“Pictures Don’t Lie: A Black in America Special”: Photographer Ernest Withers, a man remembered as a hero who helped advance the civil-rights movement. Now, his legacy is in question because of accusations that Withers may have led a double life as a paid FBI “racial informant.” His children dispute the charges. 8 p.m. Feb. 20, CNN.

“BET Honors 2011”: Gabrielle Union hosts the fourth annual celebration of black achievement. Those being honored include entertainers Cicely Tyson, Jamie Foxx and Herbie Hancock, as well as supermodel-entrepreneur Iman, publishing mogul Linda Johnson Rice and historian-educator Lonnie G. Bunch. 9 p.m. Feb. 21, BET.

“The Cosby Show: A Look-Back Special”: One of television’s most-popular sitcoms is honored in this retrospective. 8 p.m. Feb. 26, BET.