CBC announced Tuesday the slate of special programming it will feature across its platforms in February to celebrate Black History Month, showcasing Black creators, storytellers and changemakers.
CBC News’ website Being Black in Canada, which highlights the stories and experiences of Black Canadians year-round, will feature Legacy Echoes: Passing Down Our Roots (4 x 5 minutes), starting Feb. 1. The short documentary series “offers a look at the rich tapestry of multigenerational Black families as they navigate the intricate journey of transferring culture, traditions and stories from one generation to the next,” reads a press release.
An episode of Legacy Echoes: Passing Down Our Roots will air every Wednesday in February on CBC News Network’s Canada Tonight and CBC Gem. In addition, all four episodes will air as a 30-minute special on CBC News Network, CBC News Explore and CBC Gem on Feb. 24 and 25.
CBC Gem is currently showcasing the point-of-view documentary series For the Culture with Amanda Parris (6 x 60’), in which “award-winning writer, executive producer and host Amanda Parris leaves the wars raging on social media to create space for urgent and provocative conversations that centre Blackness and Black folks,” the release says. Joining her in conversation are writer and producer Larry Wilmore, best-selling author Bolu Babalola, comedian Gina Yashere and the “Robin Hood of Restitution” Mwazulu Diyabanza.
CBC Gem also offers four Black History Month collections — Black Stories, Celebrating Black History, Black Music & Art, and Must Watch Black Leads — featuring more than 60 series, films and documentaries. Highlights include the documentary On the Line: The Richard Williams Story (Feb. 1), the award-winning documentary Le Mythe de la Femme Noire/The Myth of the Black Woman (Feb. 1), the feature film Marshall (Feb. 2) starring late actor Chadwick Boseman as America’s first African-American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and the International Emmy Award-nominated U.K. comedy/drama Dreaming Whilst Black (streaming now) created by and starring BAFTA Award-winner Adjani Salmon.
CBC announced nominations for CBC Black Changemakers 2024 are open now in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, with a new four-part podcast looking back at past laureates soon to be available on CBC Listen and everywhere podcasts are available, starting Feb. 5.
The CBC Music Playlist Challenge (#BlackMusicMatters Edition) runs from Feb. 5 until March 26. Music educators are invited to download the free lesson plan on “Hip Hop and Social Justice in Canada”, and then submit a 15-song YouTube playlist of favourite Black Canadian artists. The winning class will be treated to a virtual concert with Chad Price. More information will be available Feb. 1 at cbcmusic.ca/musicclass.
Throughout the month of February, CBC Music will feature Canadian Black music trailblazers on The Block, hosted by Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe, every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 p.m. on CBC Music and CBC Listen. Some of the prominent figures in Canadian Black music history featured include contralto Portia White, hip hop group Dubmatique and soprano Measha Brueggergosman.
Additional programming celebrating Black history and culture will be featured in February on CBC Radio, CBC Podcasts, CBC Arts, CBC Books, CBC Kids, CBC Kids News and CBC Sports. More information is available here.
Legacy Echoes artwork courtesy of CBC.
