ITVS Celebrates Black History Month

Nine-year-old Pricilla from P-Star Rising, airing Feb. 9 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS.

Mine, premiering Feb. 16 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS.

ITVS and PBS offers viewers the opportunity to explore the rich and vibrant history and cultural contributions of African Americans throughout the year, but this month offers a special slate of new and encore programs in honor of Black History Month.

Independent Lens brings race to the forefront with four new films in February. Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness, debuting Feb. 2, explores the often-overlooked legacy of Jewish anthropologist Melville Herskovits, whose ideas in the 40s and 50s challenged the accepted assumptions about race and culture. Then, tune in on Feb. 9 for P-Star Rising, which looks at nine-year-old Pricilla who wants to be the youngest female rap star ever and her single father who is determined to help her make it big. This film also closes out the special line-up of compelling films as part of Independent Lens’s Music Month.

A third film, Mine, premiering Feb. 16, tells the poignant and powerful story of animals left behind during Katrina, and of the struggles of hurricane victims to reunite with their beloved pets. Finally, Behind the Rainbow, airing Feb. 23, unearths once-hidden realities of South Africa’s political obstacles on the path to democracy.

Other ITVS films airing this month on PBS include: February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four, which looks at the pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement when four college students staged a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960, and Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968, which investigates the continued cover-up of the tragedy of 1968 on the campus of South Carolina State University and follows ongoing efforts to seek justice.

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Thousands of hours of PBS programming are available on the PBS Video Portal, including a special collection for Black History Month.

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Watch these video clips of upcoming new Independent Lens programs (check local listings):

Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness, Feb. 2 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS

P-Star Rising, Feb. 9 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS

Mine, Feb. 16 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS

Behind the Rainbow, Feb. 23 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS

Tags: Africa, African American, Black History Month, civil rights, Hurricane Katrina, Jewish, music, rap