ATLANTA, Jan. 20, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ — Bounce TV’s (http://www.bouncetv.com) first Black History Month tribute will be called “Our History” and will feature Bounce TV premieres of powerful documentaries spanning topics such as slavery, the Civil Rights movement and the explosion of Hip Hop every Wednesday night in February. Additionally, leading African American movie stars and directors including Kevin Hart, Gabrielle Union, Regina King, Tim Story and Will Packer will be featured throughout “Our History” in new specially-produced vignettes reflecting on their heritage and culture.
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Martin Luther King III and Ambassador Andrew Young are among the Founding Group and Board of Directors for Bounce TV and Ambassador Young is featured prominently in one of the network’s documentaries premiering in February (Crossing in St. Augustine, Feb 8, 29.) “At Bounce, we believe we celebrate the African American community every month, every week, every day,” commented Ambassador Young. “Yet it is important as the country focuses on the contributions of African Americans to the advancement of civilization that we participate in a significant and meaningful manner. I strongly encourage people of all races and all ethnicities to watch Bounce TV every day, but particularly Wednesday nights in February.”
Bounce TV’s “Our History” Schedule (All nights start at 8:00 p.m. ET)
Feb. 1: February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four documents one volatile winter in Greensboro that not only challenged public accommodation customs and laws in North Carolina, but served as a blueprint for the wave of non-violent civil rights protests that swept across the South and the nation throughout the 1960s. The Road to Brown follows and tells the story of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling as the culmination of a brilliant legal assault on segregation that launched the Civil Rights movement. It is also a moving and long overdue tribute to a visionary but little known black lawyer, Charles Hamilton Houston, “the man who killed Jim Crow.” Freedom on My Mind is next and is an acclaimed documentary film about the efforts to register African-American voters in 1960s Mississippi and the formation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Feb. 8: Crossing in St. Augustine focuses on the impact of the civil rights movement in St. Augustine, Florida that culminated in a visit by Andrew Young at the request of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964. Young was beaten and kicked in St. Augustine while attempting to cross at the corner of King Street and St. George Street to speak with police officers while leading a non-violent march. Next, the multiple award-winning documentary 500 Years Later, which was filmed on five continents and over twenty countries, tells the compelling story of the struggle of a people who have fought and continue to fight for the most essential human right – freedom.
Feb. 15: How We Got Over uses unique archival footage – mostly unseen since the time of its original broadcast in the 1950s and ’60s – to re-frame the story of the civil rights struggle and bring our nation’s struggle for racial equality to life. Wild Women Don’t Have The Blues then details how the blues were born out of the economic and social transformation of African American life. The lives of Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter and other music legends are showcased. A special encore of Freedom on My Mind follows.
Feb. 22: The Hip Hop Project is the dynamic and inspirational story of a group of New York City teenagers who transform their life stories into powerful works of art, using hip hop as a vehicle for self-development and personal discovery. The Real: Rucker Park Legends is next and has been called “The best work ever done on inner city basketball.” It offers historical insight into the importance of Harlem’s legendary Rucker Park and its Stay in School basketball tournament and league as well as its famous “Each One Teach One” program, pairing up basketball’s greats with disadvantaged youth.
Feb. 29: The History Makers: Faith leads off the night as the first of two documentaries from the Russell Simmons High Self Series that features African Americans who changed the world. Faith centers on the importance of faith in both oneself and a higher being to achieve the impossible. Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., B.B. King, Susan L. Taylor, Rev. Al Sharpton, Kim Fields, Marva Collins among others are featured.
The History Makers: Courage follows immediately and features Harry Belafonte, Vernon Jordan, Nikki Giovanni, B.B. King, and Angela Davis who tell, or are featured in, Courage’s triumphant stories of overcoming struggles and repression. An encore of Crossing in St. Augustine caps the evening.
Bounce TV airs twenty four hours a day, seven days a week on the digital signals of local television stations. Bounce TV is majority African American-owned.
Contact: Jim Weiss, 770-722-2142, JWeiss@BounceTV.com
