February is Black History Month! Join us as we celebrate and recognize the contributions and influence of Black Americans that has shaped our nation. Below we’ve gathered a list of educational and enlightening programs that offer a glimpse of the diverse achievements, history, culture, and traditions airing on PBS KVIE, available to stream for free on the PBS app, or available to stream with PBS KVIE Passport. Discover, reflect, learn, and celebrate Black History Month not only during the month of February, but all year long.
Programs Airing on PBS KVIE
Rob on the Road: Rob at Home – Dr. Jonathan King
February 2 at 7:30PM
Listen in as former Lake Tahoe Community College Vice President Dr. Jonathan King shares his path from the horrors of segregation to a powerful message on education. The Morehouse and Harvard Graduate was born in the height of the civil rights moment and witnessed his pregnant mother beaten unconscious by police, a catalyst to the Albany Movement bringing Dr. Martin Luther King to young Jonathan’s family home.
Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History
February 3 & 10 at 9PM
February 17 at 9PM & 10PM
Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History is a four-part series tracing the rich, complex relationship between Black and Jewish Americans — defined by solidarity and strained by division. Drawn together by racism and antisemitism, they forged civic and cultural bonds, especially during the civil rights era. The series explores both the challenges and enduring promise of that alliance.
ViewFinder: All American – The Walter Gordon Story
February 4 at 7PM
Discover the untold story of Walter Gordon, a UC Berkeley All-American football player, the first Black graduate of Cal’s Boalt Law School, and Berkeley’s first Black police officer. Gordon had a distinguished career in law enforcement, civil rights, social justice, and prison reform.
Raise Your Head Up: Freedom Colonies in America
February 6 at 10PM
After the Civil War, 4 million formerly enslaved people were set free, but most had no place to go. Wanting autonomy over their lives, many formed Freedom Colonies, living far away from the racism of Jim Crow. This program follows four of these communities struggling to keep their legacies alive.
Lines Broken: The Story of Marion Motley
February 13 at 10:30PM
Follow the journey of gifted football star Marion Motley, one of pro football’s first black players. In 1946, Motley was one of four African American men to break pro football’s color barrier when he joined the Cleveland Browns. This production tells the Ohio native’s story of adversity, personal tragedy, and triumphs, using rarely heard archival and new interviews with historians, friends, and descendants.
ViewFinder: Called Up – The Emmett Ashford Story
February 18 at 7PM
Trace the inspiring true story of Emmett Ashford, who shattered barriers to become Major League Baseball’s first Black umpire. Through powerful interviews, rare archival footage, and rich cultural context, this documentary chronicles his arduous 15-year journey to the big leagues and celebrates the legacy of a man who changed the game forever.
ViewFinder: The Time Is Now – The Civic Life of Nathaniel Colley
February 25 at 7PM
Follow the life of Nathaniel Colley, one of Sacramento’s earliest African American lawyers who spent 50 years shaping the course of American history. His passion for education and civil rights brought Colley together with John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Rosa Parks, Edmund “Pat” Brown, and Bill Clinton.
Programs Available to Stream on the PBS app
American Masters: Sun Ra – Do The Impossible
Premieres on February 20 at 9PM
Discover the extraordinary life of poet, philosopher and music visionary Sun Ra. With his ever-evolving collective, the Sun Ra Arkestra, he self-produced more than 200 albums, stretching the boundaries of jazz and becoming one of the first Black artists to have his own record label.
The Five Demands
In April 1969, a small group of Black and Puerto Rican students shut down the City College of New York, an elite public university located in the heart of Harlem. Fueled by revolutionary fervor, the strike turned into an uprising, leading to the extended occupation of the campus, classes being canceled, students being arrested, and the resignation of the college president.
Local, USA: Segregation Scholarships
See the untold story of Black Americans in pursuit of higher education in the North when Southern graduate schools were white-only. The academics, who left during the Great Migration, returned to the Jim Crow South to strengthen their communities and to help end segregation.
Programs Available to Stream on the PBS app with PBS KVIE Passport
PBS KVIE Passport is a benefit of station membership. Members gain extended access to more videos available to stream on the PBS App.
American Masters: Roberta Flack
Follow music icon Roberta Flack from a piano lounge through her rise to stardom. From “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” to “Killing Me Softly,” Flack’s virtuosity was inseparable from her commitment to civil rights. Detailing her story in her own words, the film features exclusive access to Flack’s archives and interviews with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Peabo Bryson and more.
American Masters: The Disappearance of Miss Scott
Meet jazz virtuoso and screen superstar Hazel Scott, the first Black American to have their own television show. An early civil rights pioneer, she faced down the Red Scare at the risk of losing her career and was a champion for equality. This film features interviews with Mickey Guyton, Tracie Thoms, Amanda Seales, and Sheryl Lee Ralph as the voice of Hazel Scott.
Becoming Frederick Douglass
Discover how a man born into slavery became one of the most influential voices for democracy in American history. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Stanley Nelson explores the role Frederick Douglass played in securing the right to freedom for African Americans.
Becoming Thurgood: America’s Social Architect
Explore the life and legacy of the nation’s first African American Supreme Court justice. The film follows Justice Marshall, known as “Mr. Civil Rights,” from his legal career with the NAACP to his 1967 appointment to the nation’s highest court.
King of Them All: The Story of King Records
Unfold a listening session with the history of King Records, which, by the late forties and fifties, was the most inclusive American record company at the time. From James Brown’s soul to the Stanley Brothers’ bluegrass, King Records defied the racial segregation of music and shaped genres that still echo today. Guided by voices like Seymour Stein, Vince Gill, and Christian McBride, this film restores a lost legacy.