WQED-TV continues specials on black history
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Black History Month programming continues on WQED-TV Sunday with four documentaries: "Wylie Avenue Days" (3 p.m.), set during the prime of Pittsburgh's Hill District in the 1930s-50s; "Barbershops: PA Stylin" (4 p.m.), hosted by Chris Moore; "Torchbearers" (5 p.m.), about local civil rights pioneers; and "Secrets of the Dead: Slave Ship Mutiny" (8 p.m.), the 1766 story of a Dutch slave ship's ill-fated voyage to South Africa.
Other programming this month includes "Independent Lens: More Than a Month" (10:30 p.m. Feb. 16), a tongue-in-cheek account of one filmmaker's campaign to end Black History Month, and "Fly Boys: Western Pennsylvania's Tuskegee Airmen" (8 p.m. Feb. 23), the story of more than 40 local African-American soldiers who served in the air corps during World War II.
On Feb. 27, "In Performance at the White House" (9 p.m.) honors the blues in a program hosted by President Barack Obama and the first lady.
The ToonSeum has teamed with the Museum of Uncut Funk to celebrate Black History Month with "Funky Turns 40," an exhibit exploring the legacy of positive black animated characters of the 1970s.
Until the civil rights movement, African-Americans were largely ignored or depicted in broad, derogatory stereotypes in comics and animation. But as laws and attitudes began to shift, Saturday morning cartoons of the 1970s introduced some positive, relatable images through series such as "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," "The Jackson 5ive," "Josie and the Pussycats," "I Am the Greatest," "The Harlem Globetrotters" and "Star Trek: The Animated Series." The exhibition at the ToonSeum's Lou Scheimer Gallery through March 10 will focus on the art of "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," a series produced by Pittsburgh native and gallery namesake Lou Scheimer.
"Funky Turns 40" is co-curated by Pamela Thomas of the Museum of Uncut Funk, a virtual showcase at museumofuncutfunk.com. The ToonSeum also will dedicate Geek Nights this month to black characters in television. More information at www.toonseum.org or 412-232-0199.
First Published February 3, 2012 12:00 am
