IFC Celebrates Black History Month

IFC Celebrates Black History Month with the IFC Spotlight: African American Directors.

This award-winning documentary (full of rare archival footage and unforgettable backstage stories from Spike Lee (pictured), Mario Van Peebles, Gil Scott-Heron, and others) is a carefully crafted tale of Melvin Van Peebles, young black kid from Chicago who ended up making one of the most controversial movies in American history, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, the film that sparked the Blaxploitation era in Hollywood. Directed by Joe Angio. EPA/GEORGE FREYThe celebration of Black History Month, and the study of black history, is thanks to the dedication of Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Born to parents who were former slaves, he spent his childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines and enrolled in high school at age twenty. He eventually earned a Ph.D. from Harvard. The scholar was disturbed to find in his studies that history books for the most part overlooked the black American population. To address this, Woodson established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now called the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History) in 1915, and a year later founded the Journal of Negro History. In 1926, he launched Negro History Week as an initiative to bring national attention to the contributions of black people throughout American history.Woodson chose the second week of February because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced the black American population, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.Now IFC presents a night of films dedicated to African American films and film makers who have influenced the arts, and inspired further generations to pursue Cinema.Tune in Thursday, February 5th beginning at 6:30pm ETHow To Eat Your Watermelon in White Company and Enjoy It (2005) 6:30pm etThis award-winning documentary (full of rare archival footage and unforgettable backstage stories from Spike Lee, Mario Van Peebles, Gil Scott-Heron, and others) is a carefully crafted tale of Melvin Van Peebles, young black kid from Chicago who ended up making one of the most controversial movies in American history, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, the film that sparked the Blaxploitation era in Hollywood. Directed by Joe Angio.Antwone Fisher (2002) 8:00pm etDerek Luke stars in his breakout role as Antwone Fisher, a young naval recruit who is forced to see a psychiatrist (played by Denzel Washington) after a violent outburst on another cadet. Together, they confront Antwone’s painful past and renew his hopes for the future. Directed by Denzel Washington.Bamboozled (2000) 10:05pm etA biting satire of the television industry, Damon Wayans stars as a frustrated television writer who, in an attempt to get fired, pitches a black-face minstrel show with a twist— black actors in even blacker-face. As the show becomes a hit, repercussions arise for all involved. Directed by Spike Lee.The Glass Shield (1994) 12:30am etJJ, the first black officer at an all white police station faces racial tension, police corruption and discrimination as he begins to doubt the guilt of an accused murder that he helped arrest. JJ faces grave personal danger as he must decided how far he will go in the pursuit of justice. Directed by Charles Burnett.