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ETV to Present Stellar Lineup of Programs Celebrating African-American History Month

For Immediate Release
January 21, 2010

Columbia, SC...Throughout February, ETV celebrates the enduring contributions that African-Americans have made to the venerable fabric of American society. ETV’s national Independent Lens presentation of Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968 kicks off the month of special programming on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 10 p.m.

The program takes a look at one of South Carolina’s bloodiest Civil Rights tragedies, The Orangeburg Massacre, during which, three African-American student protestors were killed at South Carolina State College in Orangeburg in 1968. This meticulously researched documentary recounts the definitive report of that horrific event and exposes the environment that kept details of the incident buried for so long.

Produced by Boston-based Northern Light Productions, this powerful hour-long program also addresses perplexing questions about how the U.S. acknowledges it’s tortured racial past in order to make sense of its challenging present. South Carolina contributors to this documentary include:

• Dr. Cleveland Sellers, President, Vorhees College
• Dr. William C. Hine, SC State University Professor and historian
• Dr. Jack Bass, Author and journalist
• Cecil Williams, S.C. State and Claflin University photographer in 1968

Then, at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Feb. 10, 17, 24 and March 3, Faces of America with Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. airs. The four-part series from the producers of “African American Lives” and “African American Lives 2” utilizes the latest tools of genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 12 renowned Americans.

Filmed throughout Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and the Middle East, each hour-long broadcast features the wider immigrant stories of prominent personalities including comedian and South Carolina native Stephen Colbert, Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep, and the professor/poet Elizabeth Alexander, who composed and read the poem at President Barack Obama’s inauguration.

On Thursday, Feb. 11 at 10 p.m., ETV presents My Name Ain’t Eve. This 30-minute Southern Lens program, the brainchild of ETV media producer and independent filmmaker Urica P. Floyd, is a candid and humorous personal documentary that explores the significance of names in the African-American community. Through interviews with family members, strangers, and scholars, Floyd investigates the historical paths, traditions, and contemporary methods used to name African-American children, as well as the evolution of the names for the Black race.

Immediately following My Name Ain’t Eve is the Southern Lens presentation, Long Walk to Freedom. Airing at 10:30 p.m., this documentary peers into the lives of 12 ordinary people from different racial and economic backgrounds and takes a look at their accomplishments and how these achievements changed the face of the nation. Together with tens of thousands of other Americans, this group of men and women joined the Civil Rights Movement to protest racial inequality, segregation and discrimination in the 1960s.

Sunday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m., An Evening with Smokey Robinson premieres. Hosted by PBS’ Newshour Senior Correspondent Gwen Ifill, this hour-long one-on-one interview delves into the life and career of Motown legend Smokey Robinson. Musical tributes from Grammy-nominated artists Teena Marie, Howard Hewett and Musiq Soulchild punctuate this celebration of one of R&B’s beloved icons.

The commemoration of African American heritage continues with weekly broadcasts of ETV’s Connections, hosted by P.A. Bennett. The statewide minority affairs program airs every Friday at 7:30 p.m. with encore broadcasts every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. The February lineup includes engaging discussions on fitness, relationships, and veterans affairs.

Additional programs that will air during African-American History month include:

• Thursday, Feb. 4 at 10 p.m. - Independent Lens: Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968
• Thursday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. - In Performance at the White House: Music of the Civil rights Era
• Thursday, Feb. 11 at 9 p.m. – Carolina Stories: A True Likeness
• Thursday, Feb. 11 at 9:30 p.m. – Southern Lens: Long Walk to Freedom.
• Thursday, Feb. 18 at 10 p.m. – Southern Lens: The Telling Takes Me Home
• Thursday, Feb. 18 at 10:30 p.m. – Southern Lens: In the Midst of Movement
• Sunday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. – Black History Teleconference: The Struggle Continues: The History of Black Economic Empowerment
• Sunday, Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m. – Southern Lens: Before Rosa: The Unsung Contribution of Sara Mae Fleming
• Monday, Feb. 22 at 10 p.m. – American Master: Zora Neale Hurston: Jump At the Sun
• Thursday, Feb. 25 at 9 p.m. – Carolina Stories: Homecoming: The Art of Leo Twiggs and Jonathan Green
• Thursday, Feb. 25 at 9:30 p.m. – Southern Lens: Bin Yah: There’s No Place Like Home
• Sunday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. – An Evening with Smokey Robinson

South Carolina ETV is the state's public educational broadcasting network with 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. Using television, radio and the web, SCETV's mission is to enrich lives by educating children, informing and connecting citizens, celebrating our culture and environment and instilling the joy of learning.

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For more information, contact Dana McCullough at (803) 737-3212 or dmccullough@scetv.org.

Southern Lens: My Name Ain't Eve. Photo courtesy of Urica P. Floyd

Faces of America: Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep. Photo courtesy of Joseph Sinnott/WNET.org.