Fairfax County’s Cable Network Premieres New Specials in Celebration of Black History Month

Fairfax County’s own nonprofit cable network, Fairfax Public Access (FPA), will premiere a special series of new movies and documentaries throughout February, in recognition of Black History Month. The FPA cable network is carried by Verizon FiOS TV and Cox Communications in Fairfax County, and by Comcast in Reston. The specials will air on FPA CHANNEL 10, FPA INTERNATIONAL CABLE 30, and FPA SPIRITUAL TV 36.

African American classic motion pictures presented this year for the first time over the cable network include the classic motion picture Within Our Gates (1920), produced, directed and written by Oscar Micheuax, the most prolific, well-known and controversial of the early African American filmmakers. Another all-black cast silent movie presented for the first time is The Scar of Shame (1927), produced by the Colored Players Film Corporation of Philadelphia, and considered by many scholars of black cinema as the greatest silent-era all-black cast motion picture ever produced.

Other films presented for the first time include Beware! (1946), Look Out, Sister (1948), and Reet, Petite & Gone (1947) -- all starring the great saxophonist Louis Jordan, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Throughout the 1940’s and early 1950’s, Louis Jordan (known as the “King of the Jukebox”) and his Tympany Five band were immensely popular on both the pop and R&B charts. Jordan’s great popularity and talent allowed him to make films which not only showcased his musical abilities, but also broke away from the negative stereotypes typically presented in films of the era.

Two new PBS-style documentaries are premiering this year over the Fairfax Public Access cable channels. The first, The Art of Romare Bearden (2004), is narrated by Morgan Freeman with readings by Danny Glover, and explores the work of this influential African American artist. Race Movies: the Art of the Black Renaissance (1985), produced by the Smithsonian, examines the genre of early all-black cast motion pictures, including the two mentioned above, Within Our Gates and The Scar of Shame.

Black History Month programs returning from last year’s Black History Month presentation over the Fairfax Public Access cable network include The Mark of the Hawk (1957) starring Sidney Poitier and Eartha Kitt; The Emperor Jones (1933) starring Paul Robeson; The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) starring Jackie Robinson as himself and Ruby Dee; the World War II documentary The Negro Soldier (1942), written by and starring Carlton Moss, and the Academy Award-Winning Nine from Little Rock (1964).

The complete schedule of the Black History Month specials is available on the Internet at:

www.fcac.org/BlackHistory.