1) “Gospel,” 9-11 p.m. today and Tuesday, PBS. Henry Louis Gates goes back to the start of a splendid artform. We see the preachers (including Aretha Franklin’s father) with a rich musicality and the singers with a message. He introduces the early masters — writer Thomas Dorsey, singer Mahalia Jackson (shown here), etc. — and, on Tuesday, modern forces who merge rock, gospel and show-biz flair. Read more…
One day in 1961, Ed Dwight’s high-flying life took an abrupt turn.
“I had a very successful military career … flying five different airplanes, which is a pilot’s dream,” he recalled.
Then he got word that he should prepare to become the first Black astronaut. He didn’t particularly want it, but his mother did; so did John Kennedy.
Dwiight’s story is at the core of “The Space Race” (shown here with Victor Glover, Dwight and Leland Melvin), an intriguing documentary about Blacks and NASA. It reaches Hulu and Disney+ on Tuesday (Feb. 13), after debuting at 9 p.m. Monday on the National Geographic Channel. Read more…
