WAM! to Commemorate Black History Month With Education Package

WAM! to Commemorate Black History Month With Education Package 'Extra Credit' Programming Package Features Seven Films Celebrating the African American Experience ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- WAM! will commemorate Black history month in February with a programming package that features seven films that celebrate the history and achievements of African Americans. The "Extra Credit" programming package is part of WAM!'s ongoing commitment to provide overnight Cable in the Classroom programs that educate while they entertain and will run throughout the month. Check local listings for show times. "This film package provides our audience with films that both entertain and educate -- providing our teen viewers with tools to better understand their world," said Midge Pierce, vice president WAM! programming. "The films are also scheduled for teacher convenience and intended to complement school curriculum and national education standards." The selected titles will play throughout February during the WAM! education block. The featured films are: "And the Children Shall Lead" -- An examination of prevailing racial attitudes during the voter registration drives in the southern United States, as experienced by a young Black girl in 1964 Mississippi. "Black Like Me" -- The true story of a white journalist, John Howard Griffin, who underwent pigmentation treatments to "become" a Negro in the late 1950s. He thought that the best way for him to understand what it was like to be Black in the segregated south was to experience the feeling first hand. "Booker" -- A dramatization of Booker T. Washington's early years as his family makes the hard transition from slavery to freedom. Determined to learn how to read, he plans to one day open a school to teach reading. "Cosmic Africa" -- A high definition feature documentary on the traditional aspects of astronomy in Africa. This film is the personal account of African astronomer Thebe Medupe, who embarks on a journey to reveal aspects of Africa's astronomical and cosmological past. "The Road to Brown" -- The story of segregation unfolds along with the career of a brilliant lawyer who defeated Jim Crow laws and launched the Civil Rights movement. This film is a moving tribute to a visionary but little known black lawyer, Charles Hamilton Houston, whose legal actions paved the way for school desegregation. "Simple Justice" -- The account of an era in America when injustice against African Americans was written into the law of the land -- and when a group of dedicated lawyers refused to give up until the highest court affirmed that discrimination was unjust. "Words By Heart" -- Set in a northern farming town in 1910, this is the story of the town's only Black family who are treated with barely concealed contempt by the white farmers and with outright hostility when the family's daughter wins a Bible-verse contest. WAM! is the first and only 24-hour commercial-free channel dedicated entirely to providing kid-friendly, socially-responsible entertainment to tweens and teens. WAM! offers primetime movies every night, plus comedy, drama, music, lifestyle and sci-fi series that reflect contemporary teen life. WAM! also features originals that provide "reality with a conscience" and entertaining, educational specials that guide young people from child to adulthood. For more information on WAM! contact us at wam@starz.com. Starz Entertainment Group LLC (SEG) is the largest provider of premium movie services in the United States with approximately 167 million pay units. SEG offerings include the Starz Super Pak(R), with up to 13 digital movie channels and more than 750 movies per month, STARZ! HD, Starz On Demand(R), and STARZ! Ticket, the first and only on-demand premium TV subscription service available on the broadband platform. Starz Entertainment Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation (NYSE:L)(NYSE:LMCb), www.starz.com. Photos available upon request. Contacts: Michelle Ellis Tom Chen Starz Entertainment Group mPRm (720) 852-6269 (323) 933-3399 michelle.ellis@starz.comtchen@mprm.com Source: WAM! CONTACT: Michelle Ellis of Starz Entertainment Group, +1-720-852-6269, michelle.ellis@starz.com; or Tom Chen of mPRm, +1-323-933-3399, tchen@mprm.com Web site: http://www.starz.com/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment