Celebrate and explore Black History Month with WKAR!
Feb. 1 - Feb. 28. | Airing in primetime on WKAR-HD and WKAR World. Listings are subject to change.
FEBRUARY 2022
1 | Tue | 8 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
America ReFramed: “Struggle & Hope”
The last remaining residents of all-black towns in Oklahoma, which were part of an effort to convince the U.S. to create an all-black state after the Civil War, fight for their independence, character and a better future.
1 | Tue | 9 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
In Their Own Words: “Chuck Berry”
Take a riveting ride on the Chuck Berry train, exploring the life of the man behind the music. By blending “hillbilly” music with R&B and writing impactful lyrics, Berry birthed a renaissance in popular music we now call rock and roll.
1 | Tue | 9 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Minnesota Experience: “Jim Crow of the North”
Roots of racial disparities are seen through a new lens that explores the origins of housing segregation in the Minneapolis area.
2 | Wed | 9 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Independent Lens: “The First Rainbow Coalition”
The Chicago Black Panther Party, the Latino group Young Lords Organization, and the Young Patriots organization band together to confront issues such as police brutality and substandard housing.
4 | Fri | 9 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
Muhammad Ali: “Round Two: What's My Name? (1964-1970)”
Cassius Clay publicly joins the Nation of Islam and takes the name, Muhammad Ali. When he refuses induction into the Army, he is stripped of his title and forced into exile. After three years, he returns to the ring, but he's lost a step.
6 | Sun | 10 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Eyes on the Prize: “Awakenings 1954-1956”
Individual acts of courage inspire black Southerners to fight for their rights: Mose Wright testifies against the white men who murdered young Emmett Till, and Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama.
6 | Sun | 11 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Eyes on the Prize: “Fighting Back 1957-1962”
States' rights loyalists and federal authorities collide in the 1957 battle to integrate Little Rock's Central High School, and again in James Meredith's 1962 challenge to segregation at the University of Mississippi. Both times, a Southern governor squares off with a U.S. president, violence erupts — and integration is carried out.
7 | Mon | 9 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
Evening with Rep. James E. Clyburn
Majority Whip Representative James E. Clyburn is presented with the Spartan Statesmanship Award followed by a discussion between Representative Clyburn and Governor James Blanchard about the life and career of Representative Clyburn.
7 | Mon | 10 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
Independent Lens: “Owned: A Tale of Two Americas”
Is the "American Dream" of home ownership a false promise? Postwar housing policy created the world’s largest middle class, but it set two divergent paths – one of perceived wealth and the other of systematically defunded, segregated communities.
7 | Mon | 11 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Local, USA: “Heaven: Can You Hear Me?”
In Philadelphia, gun violence is the leading cause of death for young Black men. This film demonstrates the challenges that gun violence prevention advocates confront while allowing viewers to understand the often-untold trauma and resilience of survivors.
8 | Tue | 8 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
Finding Your Roots: “Fighters”
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. sits down with Terry Crews and Tony Danza, both guests who overcame adversity, to discover they aren’t the first in their families to beat the odds through sheer force of will.
8 | Tue | 8 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
America ReFramed: “Where The Pavement Ends”
Transporting viewers to Missouri towns - then all-Black Kinloch and the all-white community of Ferguson, examining the shared histories and deep racial divides affecting both. Through recordings, photographs and recollections, this film draws parallels between a 1960s dispute over a physical barricade erected between the towns and the 2014 shooting death by police of Michael Brown.
8 | Tue | 9 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
American Masters: “Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands”
Discover an international singer who captivated royalty in Europe and defied the conscience of 1939 America. Watch rare archival footage and hear audio recordings exploring her life and career from the Metropolitan Opera to the State Department.
8 | Tue | 9:30 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Why This Moment
Protests erupted across the country after the death of George Floyd in late May of 2020, including Richmond, Virginia. Filmmakers Domico Phillips and Metta Bastet captured the local outcry as people expressed their frustrations over repeated acts of police violence.
11 | Fri | 9 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
Muhammad Ali: “Round Three: The Rivalry (1970-1974)”
Muhammad Ali battles his fiercest rivals, Joe Frazier and the U.S. government, as he attempts to regain the heavyweight title. He first loses to and then defeats Frazier, but he will have to beat George Foreman to become champion again.
13 | Sun | 9 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Finding Your Roots: “Fighters”
Rebroadcast from 2/8.
13 | Sun | 10 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Eyes on the Prize: “Ain’t Scared of Your Jails 1960-1961”
Black college students take a leadership role in the civil rights movement as lunch counter sit-ins spread across the South. "Freedom Riders" also try to desegregate interstate buses, but they are brutally attacked as they travel.
13 | Sun | 11 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Eyes on the Prize: “No Easy Walk 1961-1963”
The civil rights movement discovers the power of mass demonstrations as the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. emerges as its most visible leader. Some demonstrations succeed; others fail. But the triumphant March on Washington, D.C., under King's leadership, shows a mounting national support for civil rights. President John F. Kennedy proposes the Civil Rights Act.
14 | Mon | 9 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
Through The Banks of the Red Cedar
In 1963, Michigan State Head Coach Duffy Daugherty and 23 African American young men seized the opportunity of a lifetime. Now, the daughter of Minnesota Vikings football legend Gene Washington deepens her connection to her father as she uncovers how the first fully integrated college football team in America changed the game forever.
15 | Tue | 8 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
America ReFramed: “The Falconer”
One of only a handful of African American falconers in the country, Rodney Stotts is on a mission to build a bird sanctuary and provide access to nature for his stressed community. This is a story of second chances: for injured birds of prey, for an abandoned plot of land, for a group of teenagers who have dropped out of high school, and for Rodney himself.
15 | Tue | 9 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Stone of Hope: “Moving The Dream Forward”
Experience the first decade of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington D.C. Now the fifth most visited Memorial averaging 3-5 million visitors a year, the King Memorial uniquely serves the country as the only Memorial on the National Mall honoring an activist, a preacher, and a man of peace.
15 | Tue | 8 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
Finding Your Roots: “Forgotten Journeys”
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps John Leguizamo and Lena Waithe retrace the paths of their ancestors, uncovering crucial pieces of their own identities that were lost on the journey to America.
15 | Tue | 9 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
American Experience: “The American Diplomat”
Discover how three Black diplomats broke racial barriers at the U.S. State Department during the Cold War. Asked to represent the best of American ideals abroad while facing discrimination at home, they left a lasting impact on the Foreign Service.
15 | Tue | 10 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
Frontline: “American Reckoning”
An unsolved 1960s murder reveals an untold story of the civil rights movement and Black resistance. With Retro Report, the film draws on rarely seen footage filmed more than 50 years ago in Natchez, MS, and follows one family's search for justice.
16 | Wed | 8:30 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Frontline: “American Reckoning”
Rebroadcast from 2/15.
18 | Fri | 9 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
Muhammad Ali: “Round Four: The Spell Remains (1974-2016)”
Muhammad Ali shocks the world by defeating George Foreman, winning back the heavyweight title and becoming the most famous man on earth. After retiring in 1981, he travels the world spreading his Islamic faith and becomes a symbol of peace and hope.
20 | Sun | 9 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Finding Your Roots: “Forgotten Journeys”
Rebroadcast from 2/15.
20 | Sun | 10 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Eyes on the Prize: “Mississippi: Is This America? 1963-1964”
Mississippi's grass-roots civil rights movement becomes an American concern when college students travel south to help register black voters and three activists are murdered. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party challenges the regular Mississippi delegation at the Democratic Convention in Atlantic City.
20 | Sun | 11 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Eyes on the Prize: “Bridge To Freedom 1965”
A decade of lessons is applied in the climactic and bloody march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. A major victory is won when the federal Voting Rights Bill passes, but civil rights leaders know they have new challenges ahead.
21 | Mon | 9:30 | WKAR-HD 23.1
POV Shorts: “Positive Images”
A man creates an archive of black excellence and fights for its permanence in "Give." A family's audiovisual legacy, identities, and record are revisited in Into "My Life." Two short docs explore the history and memory of African-American communities.
21 | Mon | 9:30 | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Stories from the Stage: “Growing Up Black”
Bullied by a group of kids, Ben Cunningham learns he is not alone; a woman explains the realities of raising children of a different race; a woman has a chance encounter she will never forget.
22 | Tue | 8 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
Finding Your Roots: “Songs of the Past”
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. accompanies Broadway stars Leslie Odom, Jr. and Nathan Lane as they meet a cast of inspiring ancestors hidden in the branches of their family trees.
22 | Tue | 9 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
An America Reframed: “Fannie Lou Hamer's America”
Explore and celebrate the life of a fearless Mississippi sharecropper-turned-human-rights-activist and the injustices in America that made her work essential.
22 | Tue | 10:30 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
John Lewis: Get in the Way
Follow the courageous journey of John Lewis, whose unwavering fight for justice spanned the past 50 years, from his youth in the segregated South, through his leadership within the Civil Rights movement, to his role as a powerful voice in Congress.
24 | Thu | 8 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
An America Reframed: “Fannie Lou Hamer's America”
Rebroadcast from 2/22.
25 | Fri | 9 p.m. | WKAR-HD 23.1
American Masters: “Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool”
Discover the man behind the legend in this two-time Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated Stanley Nelson film featuring never-before-seen footage, including studio outtakes from his recording sessions, rare photos and new interviews.
26 | Sat | 10 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Evening with Rep. James E. Clyburn
Rebroadcast from 2/7.
27 | Sat | 11 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Eyes on the Prize: Two Societies 1965-1968
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the SCLC come north to help Chicago's civil rights leaders in their nonviolent struggle against segregated housing. In Detroit, a police raid in a Black neighborhood sparks an uprising, leaving 43 people dead. The Kerner Commission finds that America is becoming "two societies, one black, one white, separate and unequal" - President Lyndon Johnson ignores the report.
28 | Mon | 9:30 p.m. | WKAR WORLD 23.2
Stories from the Stage: “Growing Up Black Part 2”
In America, growing up Black means many things: cultural bonds, the struggle for visibility, and all too often, unearned judgment. Valerie Tutson teaches her students about Africa's greatest explorer, Abubakari II; U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo brings her son to a protest of George Floyd’s death; and Harold Cox shows how fear of the police affects his everyday life.