February 2003 Celebrate Black History Month with TV's Finest Programs

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Compiled by Wilson Morales Celebrate Black History Month with TV's Finest Programs   Unchained Memories: Reading from the Slave Narratives HBO In the late 1930s, an estimated 100,000 former slaves were still alive in the United States. In the midst of the Great Depression, from 1936 to 1938, more than 2,000 interviews with one-time slaves were conducted for the Work Projects Administration (WPA) via its Federal Writers' Project, with the transcripts (written in the vernacular of the time) forming a unique firsthand record of slave life. Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives presents dramatic selections from the extensive Slave Narrative Collection through on-camera readings by over a dozen actors, interspersed with archival photographs, music, film and period images. This 74-minute HBO documentary brings the selected words of these former slaves to life through the voices of celebrated African-American actors - Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, the film features emotion-charged readings by Angela Bassett, Michael Boatman, Roscoe Lee Browne, Don Cheadle, Sandra Daley, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Robert Guillaume, Jasmine Guy, Samuel L. Jackson, CCH Pounder, LaTanya Richardson, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Roger Guenveur Smith, Courtney B. Vance, Vanessa L. Williams, Oprah Winfrey and Alfre Woodard. In addition to their in-character readings, the actors sometimes add their own anecdotes and editorial comments, giving a contemporary and emotional perspective to the documentary's serious subject matter as well as archival photographs, authentic slave-era music performed by the McIntosh County Shouters, and creative footage evoking the brutal legacy of slavery in America. The film was produced in association with the Library of Congress (home of the Slave Narrative Collection and other WPA collections), and is supported by a multifaceted HBO outreach effort. Showtimes: Date Time Channel Mon, Feb 10 08:00 pm HBO Fri, Feb 14 06:45 pm HBO Signature Fri, Feb 14 09:45 pm HBO Signature Sun, Feb 16 05:00 pm HBO Sun, Feb 16 08:00 pm HBO Thu, Feb 20 02:45 pm HBO Thu, Feb 20 05:45 pm HBO Signature www.hbo.com The History Channel 2003 Black History Month The History Channel honors the African-American experience throughout February. Some highlights include the followings programs: February 9: World Premiere! Historycenter: Julian Bond on Civil Rights 9 am ET/PT Host Steve Gillon is joined Julian Bond as they discuss the struggles and successes of the civil rights movement and where things stand today. February 11: World Premiere! Alcan Highway 10 pm ET/PT The two-lane, 1,500-mile long Alaska Highway is an unrivaled engineering feat. It took 11,000 soldiers, nearly 4,000 of them black, only eight months to build this highway in 1942. Crossing the Canadian Rockies, plowing through thick virgin forests and skirting raging rivers and lakes, the soldiers dealt with long hours, horrible weather, isolation and wild animals to build a highway the equivalent in length to the distance from Washington D.C. to Denver, Colorado. February 13: Black Aviators: Flying Free 8 am/2 pm ET/PT The stories of African-American men and women who defied the odds to fly high as 20th century aviation pioneers. For more programs, go to http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/blackhist/schedule_p.html Showtime Original Pictures Good Fences Determined to live the American dream, upwardly mobile black lawyer Tom Spader (Danny Glover) is proud to win a high-profile case and move his family to the white, wealthy. More... Showtime Too East Feb 06 12:05 PM Showtime Too East Feb 06 9:00 PM Showtime East Feb 12 8:00 PM Showtime East Feb 15 2:00 PM Showtime Too East Feb 16 1:00 PM *All times are ET/PT Deacons for Defense Forest Whitaker, Jonathan Silverman and Ossie Davis star in this original drama, the true story of brave African-American men from Bogalusa, Louisiana. More... Showtime East Feb 16 8:00 PM Showtime East Feb 19 8:00 PM Showtime East Feb 22 9:00 AM Showtime Too East Feb 24 9:00 PM Showtime East Feb 27 11:00 PM *All times are ET/PT February Encore Broadcast on PBS Paul Robeson: Here I Stand! A film by St.Clair Bourne Check TV listings or call local PBS station for broadcast times. Paul Robeson : Here I Stand! will have an encore broadcast over the national PBS network during the Black History Month of February. Paul Robeson's accomplishments as a linguist, cultural scholar and sports legend brought him worldwide acclaim but his political positions on race and class in America made him a subject of major government harassment. Directed by veteran filmmaker St.Clair Bourne and written by Lou Potter, the two-hour documentary is a PBS "American Masters" presentation.