Beyond the Baton: A Conductor’s Journey
Born to a single mother on welfare, Thomas Wilkins grew up to become one of the few African American conductors leading a major orchestra. Learn about his experience as a Black conductor and his impact on the musical world.

Connections
Each week, host Renee Shaw and a variety of interesting and engaging people – including business leaders, entertainers, authors, celebrities, and more – explore a broad array of topics impacting Kentucky and the world.

Davis Bottom: Rare History, Valuable Lives
Discover the history of Davis Bottom, a diverse, tight-knit, working-class neighborhood near downtown Lexington settled mainly by African-Americans after the Civil War.

Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World
Chuck D of Public Enemy explores Hip Hop’s political awakening over the last 50 years. With a host of rap stars and cultural commentators, he tracks the genre’s socially conscious roots and examines how Hip Hop has become “the Black CNN.”

Finding Your Roots
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. uses cutting-edge DNA research and old-school genealogical sleuthing to help some of the nation’s most compelling personalities discover their buried family histories.

Love & Respect with Killer Mike
In this weekly conversation series hosted by Grammy-winning hip-hop artist, Michael Render (aka Killer Mike), Michael welcomes notable people from all walks of American life for candid conversations about their lives, careers and issues of the day.

A Seat at the Table
Accomplished African American women bring their unique perspectives through candid conversations about family, careers, health and more.

Smoketown: A Tradition to Treasure
A look at Louisville’s oldest African-American community through the pictures and memories of past and present residents.

The Stand: How One Gesture Shook the World
This film documents the first decade of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington D.C. which averages nearly 5 million visitors a year.

Statues: This Is What We Stand For?
Racism, white privilege – what do communities choose as symbols? This documentary examines these questions in Louisville, Kentucky, a city grappling with many of the issues that divide our country today.

African American Lives 2
Maya Angelou shares the story of learning about her Mende heritage during an interview with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

AfroPop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange
This series is at the forefront of bringing informative and entertaining films about modern life in the African Diaspora to television audiences in the U.S.

American Masters: Roberta Flack
Follow the piano prodigy and one-time school teacher, from her start in a Washington, D.C. piano lounge to superstardom and becoming one of the most influential singers in American music history.

The Beecher Terrace Story
This documentary examines the history of the Beecher Terrace public housing community and the role it played in the development of the Russell neighborhood in Louisville.

Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise (Parts 1 & 2)
In this series, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. studies the last 50 years of African American history.

Black in Appalachia
Learn about a project that showcases the contributions of Black communities of the Mountain South.

Black in Blue
Learn the story of four African American football players at the University of Kentucky who broke the color line in the Southeastern Conference in the 1960s.

Black Women Writers Forum
Writers Nikky Finney, Crystal Wilkinson and Bianca Lynne Spriggs discuss the experiences of and challenges faced by Black women in the South. Renee Shaw moderates.

Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America
Discover how the automobile brought mobility and freedom for African Americans but also exposed them to discrimination and violence.

Economic Success Through Minority Empowerment
Renee Shaw and a panel of state and national leaders explore the links between academic success in minorities and economic empowerment, how embracing diversity is pivotal to being successful in a global economy, and the importance of leadership today in creating opportunities for tomorrow.

Eyes on the Prize
Eyes on the Prize tells the definitive story of the civil rights era from the point of view of the ordinary men and women whose extraordinary actions launched a movement that changed the fabric of American life, and embodied a struggle whose reverberations continue to be felt today.

Facing an Uncomfortable Truth
This film explores the roles of African Americans in the early years of the Catholic Church in Kentucky from those who were enslaved and worked in growing the denomination to individuals who endured second-class citizenship and how Black Catholics in Kentucky are finding their voices today.

Great Conversations: Jessye Norman and Gloria Steinem
Opera singer Jessye Norman discusses her memoir “Stand Up Straight and Sing!”. She is interviewed by Gloria Steinem, feminist activist and co-founder of Ms. magazine.

Great Leaders: The Black Odyssey of Lyman Johnson
This biography of Kentucky civil rights pioneer Lyman Johnson is told mostly in his own words.

Great Performances – The Magic of Spirituals
This documentary examines the behind-the-scenes story of Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman’s famed concert of spirituals at Carnegie Hall on March 18, 1990.

Ida B. Wells: American Stories
Examine the story of the 19th-century crusading investigative journalist, civil rights leader and passionate suffragist, who recently was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize citation.

Independent Lens: The Big Payback
An Evanston, IL rookie alderwoman led the passage of the first tax-funded reparations bill for Black Americans. Will the debt ever be addressed, or is it too late for a reparations movement to finally get the big payback?

Independent Lens: Outta the Muck
The people of Pahokee, Florida overcome tragic storms and personal trauma to celebrate family history and football.

Independent Lens: The Picture Taker
The life of photographer Ernest Withers was anything but black and white. Soldier, police officer, civil rights activist and paid FBI informant, his was an unlikely résumé for a Black photographer in the 60s.

Kentucky’s Underground Railroad — Passage to Freedom
An account of the fugitive slave movement in Kentucky, focusing on those who lived in Kentucky and sought to escape to the North.

Louisville’s Own Ali
Explore the life and times of boxing hero Muhammad Ali as seen from the perspective of his hometown including interviews with journalist Dave Kindred and Bob Edwards, Gov. John Y. Brown, Mayor Jerry Abramson, Sen. Georgia Davis Powers and others.

Next at the Kennedy Center: Let My Children Hear Mingus
The Kennedy Center celebrates jazz icon and social activist Charles Mingus at 100. Through performances and conversations, learn how his outsized personality and inimitable style pushed boundaries and paved the way for future generations.

Next at the Kennedy Center: The Roots Residency
Hip Hop legends The Roots give an electrifying performance during their residency at the Kennedy Center. Beyond the stage, the band endeavors to inspire others and explore the depths of their creative potential.

NOVA: Star Chasers of Senegal
A visionary astronomer in West Africa attempts a high-stakes observation of a distant asteroid vital to a NASA mission.

Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes
An intimate portrait of the quiet genius who speaks with his music, and who brought the upright bass out from the background into the spotlight.

100 Years from Mississippi
Mamie Lang Kirkland left Mississippi at seven years old to escape racial violence and did not return until a century later.

The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song
This intimate two-part, four-hour series from Henry Louis Gates, Jr., explores the 400-year-old story of the black church in America.

Dave Chappelle: The Mark Twain Prize
An outstanding lineup of entertainers gathers in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to salute Dave Chappelle, recipient of the 22nd annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Jackie Robinson — Parts 1 & 2
Robinson rose from humble origins to cross baseball’s color line and become one of the most beloved men in America. A fierce integrationist, Robinson used his fame to speak out against discrimination.

Jazz — A Ken Burns series
Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns takes an in-depth look at jazz, the most original American art form, in this miniseries.

The Long Song on Masterpiece
This three-part series based on Andrea Levy’s award-winning novel follows a slave and her mistress.

Making Black America: Through the Grapevine
As early as 1775, free Black people in the North and South built towns, established schools and held conventions – creating networks to address the political, economic, and social needs of the Black community.

Muhammad Ali
This documentary brings to life the iconic heavyweight boxing champion who became an inspiration to people everywhere.

Tina Turner: One Last Time
In 2000, Tina Turner’s final UK concert was filmed at London’s Wembley Stadium. Turner’s inspiring, powerful performance made it an unforgettable event.

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story
This is the story of a Philadelphia clerk who risked his life shepherding runaway slaves to freedom in the years leading up to America’s Civil War.

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
Follow Jack Johnson’s remarkable journey from his humble beginnings in Galveston, Texas, as the son of former slaves, to the world of professional boxing.