Black History Month on PBS: Documentaries and Shows Streaming Now

February is Black History Month, a dedicated time to honor the contributions, resilience and cultural richness of the Black community. These stories take center stage, empowering us to reflect on the importance of diverse narratives within the Black experience. Take a moment to explore the stories of individuals in the Black community who have played a significant role in shaping American culture, politics, art and so much more.
Watch stories that have shaped our collective history on PBS NC and the free PBS App.
Discover the story of the deadly 1898 race massacre and coup d’état in Wilmington, North Carolina, when white supremacists overthrew the multi-racial government of the state’s largest city through a campaign of violence and intimidation.
Watch American Experience’s “American Coup: Wilmington 1891" on the PBS app, streaming now.
Jazz legend Nnenna Freelon has seven Grammy nominations and has performed in the most prestigious venues on the planet. But for the first time in her 40-year career, she’s releasing an album of original songs. In this episode, she performs her new material and discusses how experimenting with music besides jazz standards allowed her to get “underneath the skin.”
Watch Nnenna Freelon in Shaped by Sound, Thursday, 2/27, 9:30 PM, on PBS NC and the PBS app.
Celebrate the sesquicentennial of this iconic institution while exploring the ever-evolving definition of democracy through powerful stories and performances that have unfolded there, featuring Marsalis’ “All Rise” symphony.
Watch Chautauqua at 150: Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise, streaming now on the PBS app with PBS NC Passport.
Explore the transformative impact of Black migration on American culture and society. From the waves of Black Americans to the North—and back South—over the last century to the growing number of immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean today, the film shows how movement is a defining feature of the Black experience.
Watch new episodes of Great Migrations: A People on the Move, Tuesdays, 9 PM on PBS NC. Streaming now on the PBS app.
Hazel Scott was the most famous jazz virtuoso of her time, and she was the first African American to have her own television show. This feature documentary will shine a light on this incredible talent whose voice—like the voices of so many women, especially women of color—has been lost.
Watch American Masters’ “The Disappearance of Miss Scott,” Friday, 2/21, 9 PM, on PBS NC and the PBS app.
Meet Walter White, the NAACP’s longtime leader and one of the most influential but least-known figures in civil rights history. Under his leadership, the NAACP paved the way for Black power at the ballot box and scored important legal victories.
Watch American Experience’s “Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP,” Tuesday, 2/25, 9 PM, on PBS NC and the PBS app.
PBS is celebrating Black History Month by throwing a Block Party! Throughout the month of February, stream new and beloved programs celebrating Black excellence. Whether it’s history, music, documentaries, science or genealogy, PBS is your destination.
Learn more about the 1898 Wilmington coup, explore historical monuments around the state and meet local artists celebrating the contributions of Black musicians.
The Wilmington 1898 massacre devastated the NC city’s thriving Black community and reshaped the trajectory of civil rights and political representation in the South. Host Kenia Thompson explores its legacy and impact with Inez Campbell-Eason, great-great granddaughter of Isham Quick, one of the most prominent Black businessmen in Wilmington in the 1890s.
Streaming now on the PBS app. Watch more Black Issues Forum Fridays, 7 PM, on PBS NC.
Explore the enduring legacy of one of the most significant African American leaders of the Reconstruction Era. Born in 1852 in Eastern North Carolina to a family of turpentine farmers, White rose through the ranks of state politics to serve in the 55th US Congress from 1887 to 1901 as its sole Black voice.
Watch George H. White: Searching for Freedom, streaming now on the PBS app.
Learn more about historical sites and monuments that reflect NC’s Black history.
Discover how a historic preservation project helped recover the story of a once-thriving town near Raleigh built after the Civil War by formerly enslaved and free Black people. Oberlin had more than 1,200 inhabitants before being paved over in the name of progress. The renovation of two 1880s houses by Preservation North Carolina has exposed remarkable stories about the families who lived there.
Watch Oberlin: A Village Rooted in Freedom, streaming now on the PBS app.
Get to know Charlotte artist Quentin Talley, whose work in poetry, theater and music reflects and celebrates the Black Southern experience. As founder of the theater company OnQ Productions and leader of the musical group the Soul Providers, Talley fuses art, history and performance to spark creativity and deepen our understanding of Black culture and resilience.
Watch My Home, NC, streaming now on the PBS app.
NorthStar Church of the Arts in Durham is a nonprofit, interfaith spiritual community welcoming all people regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. Founded by famous architect Phil Freelon and Grammy-nominated jazz singer Nnenna Freelon, NorthStar offers a sacred space for creative expression, spiritual exploration and cross-cultural collaboration.
Watch My Home, NC, streaming now on the PBS app.
During a marathon recording session in the small town of Fountain, 11 family gospel groups lift their voices and celebrate the sacred soul traditions of Eastern North Carolina.
Watch The Sacred Soul of North Carolina, streaming now on the PBS app.
Follow music icon Roberta Flack from a piano lounge through her rise to stardom. From “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” to “Killing Me Softly,” Flack’s virtuosity was inseparable from her commitment to civil rights. Detailing her story in her own words, the film features exclusive access to Flack’s archives and interviews with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Peabo Bryson and more.
Watch American Masters’ “Roberta Flack,” streaming now on the PBS app with PBS NC Passport.
Dig deep into the origin story of Black gospel music, coming out of slavery, blending with the blues tradition and soaring to new heights during the Great Migration. From Mahalia Jackson to Kirk Franklin, in the last century, gospel music has become the dominant form of African American religious expression and provided a soundtrack of healing and uplift to those at the front lines of protest and change.
Watch Gospel, streaming now on the PBS app only with PBS NC Passport.
GOSPEL’s hour 1 follows the sonic influences of blues and jazz music.
Jazz has been called the purest expression of American democracy: a music built on individualism and compromise, independence and cooperation. Ken Burns follows the growth and development of jazz music from the gritty streets of New Orleans to Chicago’s south side, the speakeasies of Kansas City and to Times Square.
Watch Jazz streaming now on the PBS app with PBS NC Passport.
JAZZ begins in New Orleans, nineteenth century America's most cosmopolitan city.
An intimate four-hour series from Henry Louis Gates, Jr., The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song will explore the 400-year-old story of the black church in America, the changing nature of worship spaces, and the men and women who shepherded them from the pulpit, the choir loft, and church pews.
Watch The Black Church streaming now on on the PBS app with PBS NC Passport.
Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the roots of African American religion.
PBS KIDS For Parents
Black History Month is a time to celebrate African American heroes who have made a difference in our world. Here are some inspiring activities that you can do with your child to celebrate Black History Month and help your child value their own strengths.
PBS LearningMedia
This collection is curated to showcase Black excellence through contributions, achievements and ideas across subjects and eras. These resources aim to inspire educators to intentionally include Black stories in all curricula.
PBS KIDS For Parents
Understanding and celebrating diverse cultures begins the moment children begin exploring and reading books. Here are nine books that celebrate and offer windows into the world of Black lives and culture.
PBS KIDS YouTube Playlist
Celebrate Black culture and history with your favorite PBS KIDS characters, songs, episodes and more!
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