**COMPLIMENTS OF ESSENCE MAGAZINE**
For TV programmers, February may be sweeps month, but for us this month means a bonanza of documentaries and docudramas. But you don't have to fumble with the remote to catch the good shows. Let our Black History Month Highlights below be your guide to the best can't-miss specials:
-- Janice R. Littlejohn
Inside TV Land: African-Americans in Television is a documentary treasure trove of rare clips and memorable scenes from sitcoms, dramas and variety shows. Combined with insightful interviews from actors, writers, producers, TV executives and historians, the show details nearly 80 years of struggle and progress for African-American actors on the tube. TV Land, Feb. 8, 15, 22, at 9 p.m. EST.
http://www.tvland.com/insidetvl/aa/
The Black Filmmaker Showcase celebrates the 10th year of Showtime's platform for up-and-coming African-American directors. The showcase highlights six short films, including winner Rayce R. Denton's gritty romance, Flight of the Bumblebee. Showtime, Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 7:30 p.m. EST..
http://www.sho.com/movies/
Adapted for television by Walter Mosley,
The Middle Passage is a poignant drama recounting the horrors of a slaveship's transatlantic voyage. It's narrated by Amistad star Djimon Hounsou, who plays a dead captive who haunts the seas. HBO, Saturday, Feb. 9, at 10 p.m. EST.
Heroes of Black Comedy highlights the careers of Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Pryor and the Original Kings of Comedy with performance clips and interviews with family and friends. Comedy Central, Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25 at 10 p.m. EST.
www.comedycentral.com
In
Red Sneakers, a math whiz learns the value of his skills when a pair of magical red high-tops transform him into a high school basketball star. Gregory Hines co-stars and directs. Showtime, Sunday, Feb. 10, at 8 p.m. EST.
Lumumba is an intense docudrama chronicling the rise and fall of Patrice Lumumba, who led the newly independent Congo in the 1960s. HBO, Saturday, Feb. 16, at 10:05 p.m. EST.
Keep The Faith, Baby explores the tumultuous life and career of Congressman Adam Clayton Powell (Harry Lennix), the charismatic Harlem minister who became one of the most powerful politicians in the country. Vanessa Williams also stars. Showtime, Sunday, Feb. 17, at 8 p.m. EST.
http://www.sho.com/movies/
A Huey P. Newton Story Roger Guenveur Smith stars in this one-man show about the Black Panther Party co-founder, directed by Spike Lee. PBS, Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 9 p.m. EST.
http://www.pbs.org/hueypnewton/index.html
American Masters presents
Ralph Ellison: An American Journey offers a look at the career of the author of the seminal novel, The Invisible Man. PBS, Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 10 p.m. EST.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/
Angela Bassett stars in
The Rosa Parks Story as the "accidental activist" whose protest on a Montgomery bus sparked the Civil Rights Movement. Cicely Tyson also stars. CBS, Sunday, Feb. 24, at 9 p.m. EST.
http://www.cbs.com/specials/rosa_parks/
Emmy-award winner Andre Braugher stars as labor organizer Asa Philip Randolph in
10,000 Black Men Named George, the saga of a 12-year battle to unionize Black railway porters. Directed by Robert Townsend, Mario Van Pebbles and Charles Dutton also star. Showtime, Sunday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. EST.
http://www.sho.com/movies/
Homes of the Underground Railroad is an unusual journey through some of the safe havens that housed scores of fugitive slaves on their way to freedom. HGTV, Sunday, Feb. 24, at 9 p.m. EST.
http://www.hgtv.com/