PBS offers Black History Month programming

Staff report

KENT

Black History Month programming on Western Reserve PBS (WNEO 45.1/WEAO 49.1) and Fusion (WNEO 45.2/WEAO 49.,2) includes:

monday

“Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll” (9 p.m., Fusion): This flamboyant gospel superstar was a natural-born performer and a rebel.

“POV, American Promise” (10 p.m., Fusion): Two African-American boys are followed as they make their way through a prestigious private school.

friday

“Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth” (9 p.m., PBS): The life of the first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Literature is chronicled.

“The Education of Harvey Gantt” (10:30 p.m., PBS): The story of the first African American accepted to a white college in South Carolina is showcased.

Feb. 8

“The Age of Slavery (1800-1860)” (8 p.m., Fusion): A look at how black lives changed dramatically in the aftermath of the American Revolution.

“POV, American Promise” (11 p.m., PBS): Two African-American boys are followed as they make their way through a prestigious private school.

Feb. 10

Doin’ It in the Park: Pick-up Basketball — NYC” (9 p.m., Fusion; 10 p.m., PBS): The one-hour documentary visits 180 city basketball courts throughout New York City’s five boroughs to uncover the world of pick-up basketball.

“Independent Lens, Spies of Mississippi” (10 p.m., Fusion): The state of Mississippi formed a spy agency to preserve segregation during the 1950s and ’60s.

Feb. 15

“Rise! (1940-1968)” (8 p.m., Fusion): The long road to civil rights is examined, from world War II to Martin Luther King Jr. and beyond.

“Independent Lens, Spies of Mississippi” (11 p.m., PBS): Mississippi formed a spy agency to preserve segregation during the 1950s and ’60s.

Feb. 17

“Upaj: Improvise” (9 p.m., Fusion; 10 p.m., PBS): Two dancers from different generations join forces and an unlikely friendship develops that bridges continents, cultures and communities.

Feb. 22

“A More Perfect Union (1968-2013)” (8 p.m., Fusion): Class disparity in the black community is examined. Obama’s presidential wins are discussed.

Feb. 25

“Stories From Lakka Beach” (9 p.m., Fusion; 10 p.m., PBS): After the civil war in Sierra Leone, five villagers share their stories.