As a very old – and very new – holiday, Juneteenth is becoming a TV event.
Hit your remote Monday (June 19) and you’ll find documentaries, movies (LOTS of movies) and a mega-concert.
The concert, simulcast by CNN and the Oprah Winfrey Network, will have rap, pop and R&B stars, old and new. It will also have a Tina Turner tribute by Chloe Bailey (shown here), who’s best known for teaming with her sister (Halle Bailey, the “Little Mermaid” star) in Chloe + Halle.
It’s set for 8-11 p.m. ET … which crosses over lots of other events, including music documentaries on E (8 p.m.) and ABC (10). Then there are all those movies, ranging from the classics (“In the Heat of the Night,” “Do the Right Thing”) to the more-recent “Black Panther,” “Till” and “Respect.”
Juneteenth has been celebrated in some places since 1866 — on the first anniversary of the post-war day when the final slaves were freed – but didn’t become a federal holiday unto 2021. Here’s a sampling of some of the Black-themes shows scheduled
MUSIC
— “Juneteenth: A Global Celebration for Freedom,” 8-11 p.m. ET, CNN and OWN. It’s the second year for this mega-concert, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. There will be a Tina Turner tribute from Chloe Bailey; other performers include Kirk Franklin, Nelly, Jodeci, Miguel, Charlie Wilson, SWV, Davido, Coi Leray, Muni Long and Mike Phillips. Questlove and Adam Blackstone are the music director and Kamala Harris will speak.
— “Black Music Honors,” which aired this weekend on individual stations, reaches Bounce, a digital channel, at 7 p.m. It has performances by Da Brat, Anthony Hamilton, Tina Campbell, Robin Thicke, Juvenile, Queen Najia, Kenny Lattimore, Lil’ Mo and many more. Also, there are awards for Jeffrey Osborne, Missy Elliott, SWV, the Hawkins Family and Evelyn “Champagne” King.
ABOUT MUSIC
— “Black Pop: Celebrating the Power of Black Culture” starts a two-night, four-hour run on E. The first hour (8 p.m., rerunning at 10 p.m.) takes a quick, slick trip from gospel to Motown to hip hop, then offers vibrant dance clips and a look at the newly mega-rich. The second hour (9, rerunning at 11:30) looks at TV; unlike the first, it overloads hype in its narration. Tuesday views sports and then movies.
— “Hip-Hop @ 50: Rhythms, Rhymes & Reflections,” at 10 p.m. on ABC, is from the “Soul of a Nation” unit. Angie Martinez, a radio personality, will produce and host, talking with Master P, Coi Leray, MC Lyte, Fat Joe, Lola Charlamagne Tha God and more, plus activists and media people.
MORE NON-FICTION
— “CNN This Morning,” 6-9 a.m. ET, will include Victor Blackwell’s story about the new International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., once the largest slave port in the U.S. Blackwell hears personeal stories and, through a genealogist, hears about his great-grandfather’s great-grandfather.
— “Loudmouth,” 7 p.m., Showtime. This portrait of activist the Rev. Al Sharpton debuted Friday on Showtime’s streaming site (where it continues) and Sunday on Showtime.
— “Xernona Clayton: A Life in Black and White,” 9 p.m. on Bounce. Clayton, 92, went from her modest roots in Muskokee, Okla., to be a key civil rights activist (working with Martin Luther King) and cable executive (with Ted Turner). She reportedly was the first Black woman to have her own TV show in the South; she launched the Trumpet Awards and once convinced a Grand Dragon to renounce his position with the Ku Klux Klan. The film includes Andrew Young, Martin Luther King III, Sen. Raphael Warnock, football’s Emmitt Smith and rapper Tip “T.I.” Harris.
MOVIES:
— TBS: “Ray” (2004), 6:30 a.m.; “Dreamgirls” (2006), 9:30; “Barbershop 3” (2016), 12:15 p.m.; “Shaft” (2019), 2:30; “Ride Along 2” (2016), 5.
— TNT: A Will Smith marathon, with “I Am Legend” (2007), 7 a.m.; “Gemini Man” (2019), 9; “I, Robot” (2004), 11:30; “Hancock” (2008), 2 p.m. Those are followed by “Black Panther” (2018), 4 p.m.; “Creed II” (2018), 7; and “Black Panther” again, 9:30.
— MGM+: “Fences” (2016), 1:10 p.m.; “In the Heat of the Night” (1967), 3:30; “Amistad” (1997), 5:25; “Till” (2022), 8; “Respect” (2021), 10:15.
— Bounce: “The Fighting Temptations” (2003), 4:30 p.m.; Michael Jackson: This Is It” (2009), 11:30.
— BET: “The Hate U Give” (2018), 7 p.m.; “12 Years a Slave” (2013), 10.
— Turner Classic Movies: “Do the Right Thing” (1989), 8 p.m. ET; “Alma’s Rainbow” (1994), 10:15.