WHEN LIBERTY BURNS - A WLRN Original Presentation
- Wednesday, February 2nd at 9pm
- Thursday, February 17th at 10pm
- Sunday, February 20th at 10am
When Liberty Burns is an in-depth analysis of Miami’s 1980 race riots in Liberty City. Remembered as the McDuffie riots, this two-hour film highlights the life and untimely death of Arthur Lee McDuffie at the hands of Miami-Dade police officers.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: MUHAMMAD ALI
- Wednesday, February 2nd at 11pm
Follow Muhammad Ali’s rise from Louisville Kentucky to international fame as key events unfolded in Ali’s life, including his stunning conversion to Islam and his change of name, his legendary comeback fights, his courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease and inspirational reemergence on the world at stage at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Also Available on WLRN Passport
JOHN LEWIS: GET IN THE WAY
- Thursday, February 3rd, at 11pm
Follow the courageous journey of John Lewis, a civil rights hero, congressional leader and human rights champion whose unwavering fight for justice spanned over 60 years. Once an activist pushing from the outside, Lewis became the conscience of Congress who made noise on the inside pressing for justice, equality and human rights.
THE BLACK CHURCH: THIS IS OUR STORY, THIS IS OUR SONG
- Sunday, February 6th at 7am
Sunday, February 13th at 7am
The Black Church
An intimate four-hour series from Henry Louis Gates Jr., The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song explores the 400-year-old story of the black church in America, the changing nature of worship spaces and the men and women who shepherded them from the pulpit, the choir loft and the church pews. Also Available on Passport
KINDRED SPIRITS: ARTISTS HILDA WILKINSON BROWN
& LILLIAN BURWELL
- Tuesday, February 8th at 11:30pm
Lilian Thomas Burwell recounts the life story of her aunt, unsung artist and educator Hilda Wilkinson Brown, and the influence she had on Burwell’s own career as an abstract expressionist artist. Their lives, works of art and sources of inspiration are presented against the backdrop of a segregated society where marginalized Black artists created their own venues to exhibit their work.
Also Available on WLRN Passport
FROM THE STREETS TO THE STAGE:
THE JOURNEY OF FREDERICK DAVIS
- Wednesday, February 9th at 11pm
From the Streets to the Stage: The Journey of Fredrick Davis is the story of a ballet dancer who overcame tremendous odds to achieve his dream of dancing on stages around the world. Through intimate conversations with Fredrick Davis, as well as with the teachers, family, and friends who helped shape his career, the film chronicles Fred's journey from his difficult childhood to today.
THE STAND: HOW ONE GESTURE SHOOK THE WORLD
- Thursday, February 10th at 10pmThe Stand: How One Gesture Shook the World
It is one of the most iconic images of our time: two African American medal winners standing on the awards podium in silent protest with heads bowed and fists raised as "The Star Spangled Banner" is played. Fifty years later, that singular event remains deeply inspiring, controversial, and even misunderstood as one of the most overtly political statements in the annals of sport. Through compelling archival material and intimate interviews with the participants, the film explores how this event became a defining historical moment, the great personal risks to those involved, and the fallout that ensued.
BEYOND THE BATON: A CONDUCTOR'S JOURNEY
- Friday, February 11th at 11pm
Born to a single mother on welfare, Thomas Wilkins grew up to become one of the few remarkable African American conductors leading a major orchestra- the celebrated Omaha Symphony. Beyond the Baton: A Conductor’s Journey is an hour-long film that documents Wilkin’s experience as a Black conductor and his larger impact on the musical world. Also Available on WLRN Passport
IN THIER OWN WORDS: CHUCK BERRY
- Sunday, February 13th at 10am
Chuck Berry’s incredible life story spans more than seven decades and begins in the clubs and bars of a deeply segregated St. Luis. Rising to the top of the charts, he birthed a renaissance in popular music, now referred to as rock and roll. Throughout his career, he endured blistering racism, learned fast from a business that regularly took advantage of its artists. Chuck died a wealthy man and left a legacy that few can claim.
Also Available on WLRN Passport
INDEPENDENT LENS - OWNED: A TALE OF TWO AMERICAS
- Tuesday, February 15th at 10pm
Is the “American Dream” of home ownership a false promise? While the government’s postwar housing policy created the world’s largest middle class, it also set America on two divergent paths- one of perceived wealth and the other of systematically defunded, segregated communities.
Also Available on WLRN Passport
FANNIE LOU HAMMER: STAND UP
Tuesday, February 15th at 1130pm
Fannie Lou Hammer: Stand Up
An examination of the civil rights legend Fannie Lou Hamer, offering first-hand accounts by those who knew her and worked side by side with her in the struggle for voting rights. Also Available on WLRN Passport
UNFORGIVEABLE BLACKNESS: THE RISE & FALL OF
JACK JOHNSON
- Wednesday, February 16th at 9pm
- Wednesday February 23rd at 9pm
A two-part film detailing the gritty details of the boxing legends life through archival footage, still photographs and commentary of boxing experts.
Also Available on WLRN Passport
THE STONE OF HOPE: MOVING THE DREAM FORWARD
- Friday, February 18th at 11pm
The Stone of Hope: Moving the Dream Forward documents the first decade of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Also Available on WLRN Passport
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL
- Sunday, February 20th at 7am
In August 1955, a 14-year-old Black boy allegedly insulted a white woman in a grocery store in Mississippi. Three days later, two white men dragged him from his bed in the night, beat him brutally and shot him in the head. Although his killers were arrested and charged with murder, they were both acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury. Shortly afterwards, they sold their story to a journalist of just how they had murdered Till. His death was the spark that helped mobilize the civil rights movement.
THE GROVELAND FOUR
- Sunday, February 20th at 8am
July 1949: Four young black men are accused of rape by a 17-year-old woman in rural Lake County, Florida. The case of “The Groveland Four” included a race riot, torture, multiple murders, two trials and a Supreme Court reversal. Though widely covered by the national press, the case has been largely forgotten... even though it helped lay a foundation for the Civil Rights Movement.
Also Available on WLRN Passport
THE HOOK
- Tuesday, February 22nd at 11:30pm
Chef Ricky Moore traces the journey of the bonefish he loves from ocean to plate in the half-hour special The Hook. Go behind the scenes with Chef Ricky at his Durham restaurant, Saltbox Seafood Joint, to highlight the seafood traditions of North Carolina’s coastline and celebrate the contributions of black chefs and fishermen to coastal food culture. Also Available on WLRN Passport
A BRIDGE TO JUSTICE
- Thursday, February 24th at 11:30pm
This half hour documentary explores the life of Franklin Williams that includes archival, Oval Office audio of President Lyndon Johnson and then-Solicitor General Thurgood Marshall discussing Williams, insightful interviews with former Chief Judges Sol Wachtler and Jonathan Lippman, introspective footage of the Ambassador’s son, scholars, civil rights advocates and others who knew him. Also Available on WLRN Passport
