Monday, February 10
"Unchained Memories: Readings From the Slave Narratives" (HBO, 8-9:30pm E/P) Watching this documentary may change forever your ideas and feelings about U.S. history. When the Civil War ended in 1865, more than four million slaves were set free. Over 70 years later, when 100,000 were still alive,
their memories of life in bondage, ranging from the brutal to the bittersweet, were preserved. This documentary brings to life their stories -- gathered by writers for the U.S. government's Work Projects Administration in the 1930s -- through readings by leading African-American actors, including 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. Rated TV-PG for Adult Content. Log on to
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/unchained_memories for further information.
"Partners of the Heart (PBS, 9-10pm E/P) Here's another strong story from Black history -- it's a science documentary about 2 men at Johns Hopkins
University Hospital who pioneered a groundbreaking procedure in 1944 that would save thousands of babies' lives. One of them, Alfred Blalock, was a prominent white surgeon. The other, Vivien Thomas, was an African-American with a high school education. Blalock recognized Thomas' talents when the younger man inquired about a hospital janitor's job. But though Blalock came to treat Thomas with tremendous respect in the lab, the two men were rarely treated as equals in the outside world. Over time, Thomas would go on to train two generations of the country's premier cardiac surgeons. In 1976, more than three decades after the first baby's life was saved, Johns Hopkins finally formally recognized Thomas' extraordinary achievements, awarding him an honorary doctorate. Visit the website at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/partners/.
Tuesday, February 11
"Alcan Highway" (History Channel, 10-11pm E/P) This documentary, airing as part of the observance of Black History Month, is about the construction of
the 1,500-mile long Alaska Highway is an unrivaled engineering feat. It took
nearly 4,000 Black U.S. soldiers and another 6,000 other construction
workers 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.
Wednesday, February 12
"The Perilous Fight: America's World War II In Color" (PBS, 9-11pm E/P) If you've stayed away from history documentaries because they were in black and white and you thought B&W was boring, here's a cure for your erroneous opinion. This four-hour series, narrated by Martin Sheen ("West Wing"), captures America's wartime experience through original color film footage and
passages from diaries and letters. These sometimes startling scenes --
never before publicly screened -- presents an unusually up-close view of life
on the battlefield and on the U.S. home front. Episode I, "Infamy; Battlefronts" cover the years prior to the outbreak of World War II through the Nazi invasion of Poland and the buildup of the country's military and preparations for D-Day. Episode II, "Wrath; Triumph" covers events between D-Day and V-E Day, including the capture of a German U-boat carrying Enigma code machines and America's efforts to win the war in the Pacific. The second episode airs
February 19, from 9-11pm E/P.
Thursday, February 13
"Frontline: China In The Red" (PBS, 9-11pm E/P) This documentary follows ten Chinese individuals -- from factory workers to rural farmers and
millionaire entrepreneurs -- over three pivotal years in China's evolution from
a rigid Communist society to an exploding market economy. For more than half
a century, millions of Chinese workers labored in state-run factories that
provided cradle-to-grave job security. But the economic reforms that have
brought the world's most populous nation economic prosperity now threaten the livelihood of many Chinese workers. The Chinese Communist Party can no longer afford to subsidize the factories, and millions are being laid off, with no social safety net to catch them. These people now struggle to survive in a world they never dreamed would exist. Log on to www.pbs.org/frontline for extended coverage of the story, streaming video, and a discussion with experts about China???s future. Also check out
this related LA Times article.
