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KSUT Black History Month Programming

Hear history, storytelling, music, and hope, as we honor and explore the African-American experience.

  

KSUT is airing five different programs in February, as part of Black History Month. Each tells the story of the African-American experience in a different way.

Among them, we learn more about the little-known man who helped infuse the Civil Rights Movement with the principles of non-violence. We'll also meet four aging Southern bluesmen and the folks who are trying to bring them recognition and care; and we'll hear true tales of struggle and triumph in Detroit.

A complete schedule is below, along with program descriptions, as provided by show producers. You can also see the schedule on our weekly programming grid:

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Sunday February 7 - 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. (KSUT Sunday Special)
Bayard Rustin: Who Is This Man?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. may never have delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech if it were not for Bayard Rustin, a man whose work has been mostly forgotten by history. We'll learn more about the life and legacy of Rustin, a black, gay, Quaker who brought Gandhian non-violent protest to the Civil Rights movement in America, and who profoundly influenced Dr. King. The program is hosted by Al Letson, now host of the investigative storytelling show Reveal.

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Tuesday February 9- 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (Barrelhouse Blues)
Josh White & Lonnie Johnson Special
Learn more about the two 1930s & '40s-era blues stars and civil rights pioneers.

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Sunday February 14 - 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. (KSUT Sunday Special)
State of Siege: Mississippi Whites and the Civil Rights Movement
Mississippi occupies a distinct and dramatic place in the history of America’s civil rights movement. No state in the South was more resistant to the struggle for black equality. Using recently discovered archival audio, along with oral histories and contemporary interviews, State of Siege brings to light the extraordinary tactics whites in Mississippi used to battle integration.

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Tuesday February 16 - 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (Barrelhouse Blues)
Nina Simone Special
A one-hour feature on singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone.

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Tuesday February 16 - 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (as part of Barrelhouse Blues)
Truckin' My Blues Away
Meet four elderly Southern bluesmen and the people who are trying to help lift them from poverty and obscurity. The four men bring us the story of a singularly American style of music and culture, springing from an era that is now distant past. We also learn more about Tim and Denise Duffy, who founded the Music Maker Relief Foundation to, in their words, “help the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day-to-day needs.”

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Sunday February 21 - 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. (KSUT Sunday Special)
Homemade Stories: The Struggle is Real
Detroit-raised storyteller Shannon Cason brings us stinging and side-splitting stories of life. From navigating Detroit’s overwhelmed criminal justice system; to searching for work and finding closed doors; to being a father after failing in marriage; to finding anchors in a sea of uncertainty. Shannon’s stories are raw, honest and hilarious accounts of struggle and hope. Cason has been featured on Snap Judgment and The Moth is the host of the podcast Shannon Cason's Homemade Stories from WBEZ Chicago.

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Sunday February 28 - 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. (KSUT Sunday Special)
Can Do: Stories of Black Visionaries, Seekers, and Entrepreneurs

Stories of black pioneers, self-made men and self-taught women, neighborhood heroes and visionaries. Hear how a man tapes the history of his town with a scavenged cassette recorder. Also, a woman fights for social justice with a pie, and a DJ ignites his community with a sound. The program is produced by the Kitchen Sisters and hosted by Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actress, Alfre Woodard.

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