WNYC Black History Month 2024 Special Programming

WNYC is celebrating Black History Month with a week of special programming dedicated to the African American experience, including a live, two-hour special national broadcast of Notes from America with Kai Wright called Plague from the Shadows, which will explore the early history of the HIV and AIDS epidemic and will feature voices from Kai’s new podcast series Blindspot.

Making Belafonte: An Appreciation with Terrance McKnight from WQXR
Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. ET
WNYC AM + FM + NJPR

Harry Belafonte is known as one of history’s most successful and iconic pop stars. The “King of Calypso” brought us the Banana Boat Song (Day-O), Matilda, and his album Calypso was the first million-selling LP by a single artist. While his career in film, television and personal appearances brought him universal acclaim, his passion for civil rights was at the core of everything he did. In Making Belafonte, host Terrance McKnight takes us through his recently discovered personal connection to the iconic artist, and Belafonte introduces us to the people and experiences that helped shape his character and artistic aspirations.

Witness History: Black History Month
Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. ET
WNYC AM + FM + NJPR 

An all-new, hour-long edition of Witness History from the BBC World Service. We hear incredible interviews looking at the African-American experience, told by the people who were there. We’ll learn about an image that captured the Golden Age of jazz, the Black Jesus movement and a photographer who documented the Kamoinge Workshop in NYC.

Notes from America: Reclaiming Woke: Celebrating The Legacy Of Martin Luther King Jr. Live At The Apollo
Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. ET
WNYC AM + FM + NJPR

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final Sunday sermon was titled, “Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution.” In other words, he was advising us to stay woke. Today, that term has become a political slur. “Woke” is at the very center of our culture wars – especially as we enter a contentious election year. But like a lot of slang words, woke has an origin story that’s got little to do with how it’s used now. Join Notes from America host Kai Wright and special guests for a conversation about the current sociopolitical landscape and the true motivations behind the co-opting of “wokeness.” Plus, a live audience at the Apollo Theater contributes ideas on what we need to “stay woke” today.

Echoes of a Coup
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. ET
WNYC AM + FM + NJPR

In November 1898, an armed white supremacist mob – supported by most white elites in North Carolina – murdered untold Black Wilmington residents and drove the city’s elected government from power. The attack was explicitly white supremacist; politicians and establishment journalists had called for the overthrow of what they called “negro rule.” Wilmington’s Black community would never be the same. Echoes of a Coup tells the story of 1898 and puts these events in historical context, at a time when the United States is once again facing threats of political violence, amid orchestrated attacks on democracy – from within.

Bayard Rustin: Who Was This Man?
Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. ET
WNYC AM + FM + NJPR

August 28th, 1963 will forever be tied to Martin Luther King Jr.’s hallowed “I Have a Dream Speech.” This historic moment would probably have never come to fruition if it weren’t for a man standing in King’s shadow, Mr. Bayard Rustin. Bayard Rustin was a man with a number of seemingly incompatible labels: black, gay, Quaker… identifications that served to earn him as many detractors as admirers. Although he had numerous passions and pursuits, his most transformative act, one that certainly changed the course of American history, was to counsel MLK on the use of non-violent resistance. Hosted by Al Letson as part of his State of the Re:Union series.

Notes From America: Plague in the Shadows
Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET
WNYC AM + FM + NJPR

The fight to break down the stigma of HIV and AIDS starts in the communities that have been disproportionately impacted, and on Sunday, February 25th from 6-8 pm ET, Notes From America with Kai Wright will invite stories and voices from those communities to look back at the mistakes made in understanding the full breadth of the epidemic.

Listeners in New York and around the nation can call in to add their questions and experiences about what it's like to live with HIV and AIDS, helping to remind us all that this is a vital conversation we have to keep having. This special two hour program features reporting from the new Blindspot: The Plague In The Shadows, a podcast partnership between The History Channel and WNYC Studios.