Austin PBS Celebrates the LGBTQ+ Community
Posted on June 4, 2024
Austin PBS invites you to join in the celebration of Juneteenth with a stacked series of programs! Unpack the history of Juneteenth through the lens of distinct communities with conversations from Washington, D.C. to Galveston, Texas and celebrate Black culture. Every day from June 17 until Juneteenth catch episodes of Blackademics Television and Juneteenth Jamboree along with a number of specials, including can’t-miss documentary JUNETEENTH: FAITH & FREEDOM.
Tune In for Juneteenth 2024 Featured Programs
Monday, June 17th
African American opportunities appeared in the frontier west after the Civil War. Black cowboys permeated the land. Buffalo soldiers were recruited to take up the Indian Wars. And a Black Seminole tribe chose freedom over oppression. Juneteenth Jamboree 2018 “Soldiers, Cowboys, and Indians” at 4:00 pm.
Available for streaming at: https://www.pbs.org/video/the-outrage-of-danny-sotomayor/
Tuesday, June 11th
A young boy with fantasies of one day making animated movies with his teen idol (1970s Disney star, Ike Eisenmann) follows that dream on what turns out to be an incredible 40-year odyssey. Dear Ike: Lost Letters to a Teen Idol at 10:30 pm.
Also available for streaming at: https://www.pbs.org/show/dear-ike-lost-letters-teen-idol/
Monday, June 17th
At 25, she took her first dance class. At 28, she changed dance forever. FEELINGS ARE FACTS: THE LIFE OF YVONNE RAINER provides a front row seat to the founding of postmodern dance in America in 1962 and the woman who was at its center. Feelings Are Facts: The Life of Yvonne Rainer at 10:00 pm.
Tuesday, June 18th
Explore the origin of a global music phenomenon born among gay and black communities coming together in apartments and basement bars in 1970s New York, where dance floors became a platform in their battle for visibility and inclusion. Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution, Rock The Boat at 8:00 pm. Part 1 of 3.
Tuesday, June 25th
Experience the pinnacle of disco culture during the 1970s, set against the backdrop of black power and sexual liberation. As disco conquers the mainstream, Black women and gay men rise as superstars and icons.. Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution, Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now at 8:00 pm. Part 2 of 3.
"Stonewall Uprising" explores the dramatic event that launched a worldwide rights movement. Told by those who took part, from drag queens and street hustlers to police detectives, journalists and a former mayor of New York, and featuring a rich trove of archival footage, this film revisits a time when homosexual acts were illegal throughout America, and homosexuality itself was seen as a form of mental illness. Hunted and often entrapped by undercover police in their hometowns, gays from around the U.S. began fleeing to New York in search of a sanctuary. Hounded there still by an aggressive police force, they found refuge in a Mafia-run gay bar in Greenwich Village, the Stonewall Inn. When police raided Stonewall on June 28, 1969, gay men and women did something they had not done before: they fought back. As the streets of New York erupted into violent protests and street demonstrations, the collective anger announced that the gay rights movement had arrived. Stonewall Uprising: American Experience at 9:00 pm.
Also available for streaming at: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/stonewall/
Tuesday, July 2nd
Disco seemed untouchable by the end of the 1970s, but an incited violent backlash led to its demise. Dive into disco's underground return, where it laid the foundations for all future electronic dance music. Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution, Stayin’ Alive at 8:00 pm. Part 3 of 3.
For Pride 2024, Stream these Programs:
American Experience: Casa Susanna In the 1950s and ’60s, an underground network of transgender women and cross-dressing men found refuge at a house in the Catskills region of New York. Known as Casa Susanna, the house provided a safe place to express their true selves.
Via Passport at: https://www.pbs.org/video/casa-susanna-kvwect/
ARTBOUND: Mustache Mondays See how a roving LGBTQ+ nightclub event in Los Angeles called “Mustache Mondays” became a creative incubator for today’s leading edge contemporary artists. This film examines the history of these spaces and how they shaped the Queer cultural fabric unique to Southern California.
https://www.pbs.org/video/mustache-mondays-jhbyes/
Justly Wed: Stories from the Marriage Equality Movement Experience the firsthand and intimate recollections of four couples who were at the vanguard of the marriage equality movement in San Francisco, and the legacy of this watershed moment in American history.
https://www.pbs.org/video/justly-wed-stories-from-the-marriage-equality-movement-94yn8b/
L.A.: A Queer History The 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York has been widely regarded as the beginning of the Gay Civil Rights Movement, but the true heart of the movement, and what we know as "Gay Culture" was born in Los Angeles. "L.A.: A Queer History" sheds light on historical figures who are largely unacknowledged, creating a newfound dialogue about LGBTQ+ history.
https://www.pbs.org/show/l-queer-history/
Lost LA: Coded Geographies First published in 1965, Bob Damron's Address Book helped LGBT travelers navigate a Los Angeles where intolerance often trumped acceptance.
https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/episodes/coded-geographies
The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor: American Stories Danny Sotomayor was a man on a mission. The fiery openly gay AIDS activist, political cartoonist, and organizer took to the streets, using civil disobedience to wage war on city officials who marginalized the LGBTQ community and turned a blind eye to the AIDS crisis – all while fighting a losing battle with the disease himself. Audio-narrated descriptions are available.
https://www.pbs.org/video/the-outrage-of-danny-sotomayor-uc99kd/
POV Shorts: Post-Colonial Queer Stories about the LGBTQ+ experience around the world.
https://www.pbs.org/video/pov-shorts-post-colonial-queer-daaxza/
UNIDAD: Gay & Lesbian Latinos Unidos Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos was founded in 1981, only a few years before HIV/AIDS began to ravage LGBTQ communities. GLLU was the Los Angeles area’s first major Queer Latin@ organization, and the film chronicles events at a pivotal time in the history of LGBTQ+ equality, women’s rights, and civil rights movements that shaped the destinies of GLLU’s communities.
https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/unidad-gay-lesbian-latinos-unidos
Why Race Matters: LGBTQ+ Oftentimes, the many lived experiences of queer and trans communities of color are underrepresented, untold, and understated. Find out what it means to exist at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities – and how Black queer and trans folks create community and fight for their spaces.