In honor of Black History Month, and as part of our commitment to celebrate the diversity of America year-round, KET will air an assortment of programs that highlight the African American experience throughout the month of February.

KET’s Black History Month programming includes:

Independent Lens: The Picture Taker
KET Monday, Jan. 30 • 10/9 pm
The life of photographer Ernest Withers was anything but black and white. Soldier, police officer, civil rights activist and paid FBI informant, his is an unlikely resume for an African American photographer in the 1960s, but complex times spawn complicated stories.

Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World  
KET Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 31 • 10/9 pm
KET2 Monday, Feb. 6 • 9/8 pm
Told through interviews with some of rap’s most integral players, this series recounts the origins of the hip hop art form and how it became a cultural phenomenon against the backdrop of American history.

Finding Your Roots
KET Tuesdays, Feb. 7-28 • 8/7 pm
KET2 Wednesdays, Feb. 10-22 • 7/6 pm
Join host Henry Louis Gates Jr. as he uses cutting-edge DNA research and old-school genealogical sleuthing to help some of the nation’s most compelling personalities discover the surprising stories buried within their own families’ histories. Guests for the program’s ninth season include Julia Roberts, Edward Norton, Viola Davis, Jamie Chung, Danny Trejo, Claire Danes, Carol Burnett and more.

Ida B. Wells:  American Stories 
KET Wednesday, Feb. 22 • 10/9 pm
This hour-long documentary tells the story of Ida B. Wells, the 19th-century crusading investigative journalist, civil rights leader and passionate suffragist, who recently was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize citation.

Great Performances: Magic of Spirituals  
KET Friday, Feb. 24 • 9/8 pm
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.

Beyond the Baton: A Conductor’s Journey  
KET Monday, Feb. 27 • 10/9 pm
Born to a single mother on welfare, Thomas Wilkins grew up to become one of the few remarkable African American conductors leading a major orchestra — the celebrated Omaha Symphony.

We Were Hyphy
KET Tuesday, Feb. 28 • 9/8 pm
This music documentary explores Hyphy, a thumping Bay Area born subgenre of hip hop that draws from car culture, dance, fashion, slang and most importantly, the feeling of joy and liberation. 

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