Black History Month Special Programming 2023
This year, we've put together a curated list of Black History Month specials that will take you on a journey of the Black experience from the past to today.
There is humor, honesty, fear and hope in this collection of stories from PRX.
(Can't listen on the air date? No worries! We'll be posting the programs here after they air.)
Black Enough
Aired February 1 @ 7 p.m.
Whether it's the way we talk, the music we hear, or the clothes we wear- many Black people at some point were made to feel 'not Black enough,' including Leila and Hana. In this special from The Stoop podcast, Leila explores with TV host Joshua Johnson what it means to be told she 'talks white,' Hana talks to a psychologist as she wonders if she has to like everything Black to avoid getting called out. We go deep with comedian W. Kamau Bell who's felt awkward in Black circles and in front of Black audiences. What does it really mean to be 'Black enough'?
Did you miss this program when it aired? Catch it here.
-
Driving While Black
Aired February 8 @ 7 p.m.
One evening in 2015, Montrealer Kenrick McRae was pulled over by police. The officer told him his license plate lights weren't bright enough. So after having the dealership verify his lights were, in fact working fine, Kenrick got another light and mounted it himself to make sure he would never be given the same reason again. But he still was. In fact, no matter how scrupulous he is, Kenrick, who is Black, says he has been stopped by Montreal police multiple times. This is the story of one person's ongoing experience of racial profiling by police and how it has undermined every facet of his life.
Did you miss this program when it aired? Catch it here.
-
Ida B. Wells' Battle to Uncover the Truth
Aired February 15 @ 7 p.m.
Among those heard: NY Times correspondent Nikole Hannah-Jones, who led the "1619 Project" on the history of enslaved peoples in America and Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative.
Born to enslaved parents on a Mississippi plantation during the Civil War, Ida B. Wells emerged as a powerful investigative journalist. She overcame death threats and published widely in her quest to document the domestic terrorism against African Americans that came to be known as lynching. Her amazing life story is finally gaining recognition nearly 90 years after her death.
Did you miss this program when it aired? Catch it here.
-
Can Do: Stories of Black Visionaries, Seekers, and Entrepreneurs
Aired February 22 @ 7 p.m.
Hosted by Alfre Woodard, the Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actress, these stories come from The Kitchen Sisters collection. Stories of black pioneers, self-made men and self-taught women, neighborhood heroes and visionaries-People who said "yes, we can" and then did.
Did you miss this program when it aired? Catch it here.