TV marks Black History Month with provocative, creative fare
03.02.2022 - 23:55
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Trayvon Martin in Florida also get attention.The post-George Floyd onset of racial reckoning and the subsequent backlash have coincided with the growth of streaming and its voracious need for content, a two-fold incentive for TV to pay heed to the sweep and nuance of Black experience.With broadcast networks and cable channels trying to keep pace with flush streaming services, there’s an impressive field of documentaries, profiles and more ahead. Among the highlights (all times are Eastern):—“One Thousand Years of Slavery,” Smithsonian Channel, Feb. 7-28.
The four-part docuseries takes a global look at forced labor, examining its effect on people and societies. Prominent figures including Debbie Allen, Valerie Jarrett, Lorraine Toussaint and U.S. Sen.
Cory Booker seek out their legacy from slavery as the program explores Africa, the Caribbean and elsewhere in an effort to look anew at history. The series from Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance’s production company “stretches the canvas beyond the 400 years we’ve traditionally learned about” U.S.
slavery, Bassett said in a statement. Vance narrates the series airing each Monday this month.—“everything’s gonna be all white,” Showtime, 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 11.
An inventive, lively and trenchant assessment of race in American history from the perspective of people of color. The three-part docuseries delves into topics including racial identity, the ongoing effects of racism on housing, education and health care and efforts by Indigenous people to protect their land. Historians, artists, activists and others weigh in, including Ibram X.