AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2
Wednesday, February 6 at 9pm on CET
The critically acclaimed PBS broadcasts AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES (2006) and OPRAH'S ROOTS (2007) shone a national spotlight on the powerful process of discovering one's family history. Now, Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. guides an all-new group — poet Maya Angelou, author Bliss Broyard, actor Don Cheadle, actor Morgan Freeman, theologian Peter Gomes, college administrator Kathleen Henderson, publisher Linda Johnson Rice, radio host Tom Joyner, athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, comedian Chris Rock and rock ’n’ roll legend Tina Turner — on a journey to discover their ancestry in AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2. The new four-part series draws on DNA analysis, genealogical research and family oral tradition to trace the lineages of the participants down through U.S. history and back to Africa.

THE ROAD HOME at 9pm focuses on stories of participants’ ancestors in the early 20th century, including the tragic account of Tom Joyner’s great-uncles, who were executed in 1915 for a crime that evidence suggests they did not commit, and Bliss Broyard’s stunning discovery about the identity of her father — renowned The New York Times critic Anatole Broyard — at the time of his death.

A WAY OUT OF NO WAY at 10pm continues to trace the guests’ lineages back through the late 1800’s to the Civil War, featuring such stories as that of Chris Rock’s great-great-grandfather, a black Civil War veteran who was twice elected to the South Carolina State Legislature, and Don Cheadle’s great-great-grandparents, who, as Chickasaw Freedmen, struggled to build lives for themselves in Oklahoma after being excluded from the tribal rolls.

AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2
Wednesday, February 13
WE COME FROM PEOPLE at 9pm reveals stories of participants’ ancestors during the early years of the United States, including a riveting account of life in slavery by Morgan Freeman’s great-grandmother, unearthed within the records of the Depression-era Works Progress Administration, and Peter Gomes’ ancestors, who were freed and supported by Quaker families in Virginia in the late 1700s.

THE PAST IS ANOTHER COUNTRY airs at 10pm and presents fascinating discoveries about participants’ lineages, thanks to DNA analysis, including a groundbreaking study linking Professor Gates to a powerful medieval Irish warlord and evidence that Peter Gomes’ direct paternal line traces back to a Portuguese Jew who fled the country in the early 1500s to escape the Inquisition.

LEGACY: BEING BLACK IN AMERICA
Sunday, February 17 at 7pm on CET
In January 2007, a special tribute dinner was held in Washington, DC, to honor the Civil Rights generation. Attended by 18 celebrated African Americans from business, politics, academia, media and the arts, the dinner proved to be an intriguing discussion of race consciousness, integration and equity in the U.S. today.

COME WALK IN MY SHOES
Sunday, February 17 at 11pm on CET
A fresh, first-person perspective on the nonviolent protests that challenged segregation laws in the South and prompted the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. During the film, Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) leads colleagues from the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, religious leaders and others on an emotional pilgrimage to the "sacred sites" of the civil rights movement. At each location, Lewis reflects on his experiences and introduces the unsung heroes of the marches and voting challenges of the 1960s. The journey begins in Montgomery, Alabama, where the then-18-year-old college student first met Martin Luther King, Jr. and ends on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where an angry mob brutally beat the future congressman while leading a peaceful march.

THE CLINTON 12
Tuesday, February 19 at 10pm on CET
THE CLINTON 12 captures a pivotal moment in the American civil rights movement. Award-winning actor James Earl Jones narrates the compelling story of the desegregation of the first public high school in the South following the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown vs. the Board of Education decision. On August 27, 1956, a small group of courageous black students walked into an all-white high school in Clinton, Tenn. and into history. Seldom-seen archival footage and first-person accounts from 11 of the original "Clinton 12" and others involved in this tumultuous event illuminate the horrors of segregation in the Jim Crow South.

THE ODYSSEY OF CAPTAIN HEALY
Sunday, February 24 at 6pm on CET
THE ODYSSEY OF CAPTAIN HEALY profiles the life of one of the most famous men on the Pacific Coast during the 19th century. As captain of a U.S. Marine Revenue cutter, Captain Michael Healy stood for law and order along the treacherous 30,000-mile coast of the Alaska territory. From San Francisco's Barbary Coast to the Arctic, sailors swapped stories of "Hell-Roaring Mike Healy." The man who skippered the U.S. cutter called Bear from 1886 to 1896 kept a closely guarded secret: He was the son of an African-American slave. Using 19th-century footage of old San Francisco, and interviews with longshoremen and historians, the film tells the dramatic tale of a fascinating man who was haunted by demons and, in the end, charted a destructive life course that ended with a heart attack in 1905.

JOE LOUIS: THE BOXER WHO BEAT HITLER
Sunday, February 24 at 7pm on CET
If records are the true measure of athletic achievement, then whatever other boxers might like to claim, Joe Louis is "the greatest". He held the world heavyweight title for longer (11 years and 8 months) and defended it more times (25) than any fighter in history. JOE LOUIS: THE BOXER WHO BEAT HITLER tells the story of this stellar athlete who rose to national celebrity not only for his tremendous skill at boxing but also as a role model for breaking down the barriers to black athletes in American sport.

INDEPENDENT LENS: BANISHED
Sunday, February 24 at 11pm on CET
This is the story of three counties that forcefully banished African-American families from their towns 100 years ago — and the descendents who return to learn a shocking history. Co-production of ITVS in association with NBPC.

COLORBLIND
Tuesday, February 26 at 10pm on CET
In COLORBLIND, a group of former grade-school classmates reunite and discover the profound impact their beloved African-American teacher, Mr. Bell, had on each of their lives. Escalating violence in Detroit eventually scattered Mr. Bell's class, sending many families into the suburbs and separating the third-grade class for 35 years. COLORBLIND captures the emotional reunion of the classmates — now in their mid-40s — as they reflect upon the turbulent Civil Rights era and the humble man whose timeless lessons of love and nonviolence touched their hearts and minds and shaped their young spirits.