What to watch during Women’s History Month on KCTS 9

Let’s be honest, every day should be devoted to women, right? But March is officially Women’s History Month, and we're airing special programs all month long. Brand new episodes of KCTS 9 shows and new documentaries will showcase trailblazing women and highlight issues facing women today. We’ll also rebroadcast some of our favorite programs featuring inspiring women.

Here’s what to watch during Women’s History Month on KCTS 9 — and settle in, this list is long!

Rise Up: Songs of the Women’s Movement 

This special chronicles the role that music played in the women’s movement. Hit songs that became empowering and beloved anthems are performed by Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Helen Reddy, Loretta Lynn, Gloria Gaynor, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Annie Lennox and many others. The show also features footage of historic milestones in women’s liberation woven together with new interviews with performers and leading activists. 

Rise Up airs Sunday, March 1, at 8:30 p.m. 

American Experience: Amelia Earhart 

The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, Amelia Earhart was celebrated not only for her daring and determination, but also for her striking looks and outspoken personality. In the end, her courage cost her her life, but her contributions to flight and to women’s struggle for equality made Earhart an enduring American hero. 

Tune on Tuesday, March 3, at 1:00 p.m. or stream it online now with KCTS 9 Passport. 

Return: Native American Women Reclaim Foodways

 At its heart, Return is a film about empowering people to overcome their current circumstances through eating as their ancestors did — nutritiously and locally. This film, which explores alternative pathways to health and wellness in Native American communities.

Watch it Thursday, March 5, at 3:30 p.m.

Medicine Woman 

She was America’s first Native doctor, breaking barriers of race and gender to heal her traumatized people. A century later, Native women from many tribes follow in the footsteps of Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte. How can they hope to mend wounds of body and spirit that history has created? What have they learned about new ways of healing that can help us all? Medicine Woman documents their stories.

Tune in on Tuesday, March 10, at 1:00 p.m. or stream Medicine Woman now on KCTS9.org.  

Independent Lens: “National Bird” 

“National Bird” is the first in-depth investigation of the U.S. drone war with unique access to two courageous women, a drone target analyst and a retired intelligence officer, who connect with a former NSA analyst to become whistleblowers.

Watch the special Tuesday, March 10, at 2:00 p.m. And, watch more from Independent Lens on KCTS9.org.  

Margaret: The Rebel Princess 

This intimate two-part series profiles Princess Margaret, whose life and loves reflected the social and sexual revolution that transformed the western world during the 20th century.

Tune in on Wednesday, March 11, at 3:00 p.m. or watch Margaret: The Rebel Princess online now. 

American Masters: Lorraine Hansberry

Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” depicted the limitations of the American dream through the lives of a black family on Chicago’s South Side. The play changed the face of American theater, earning the New York Drama Critics’ Circle prize for best play of 1959. This documentary examines the renowned playwright’s life and work; it features interviews with Hollywood legends such as Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Harry Belafonte and Louis Gossett Jr.

Tune in on Thursday, March 12, at 1:00 p.m. or watch it online with KCTS 9 Passport. 

VOCES on PBS: Adios Amor – The Search for Maria Moreno

See how the discovery of lost photographs sparks the search for a hero that history forgot: Maria Moreno, an eloquent migrant mother of 12 who became an outspoken leader for farmworker rights. Her legacy was buried – until now.

Watch this episode on Thursday, March 12, at 3:00 p.m. You can stream more episodes of VOCES on KCTS9.org. 

Xavier Riddle and the Secret Movie: I Am Madam President 

This one-hour special is part of our Women’s History Month celebration. Shocked to discover that no girl has ever been President of the United States, Yadina goes on a journey to meet some of history’s boldest women and find out exactly how she can do something that’s never been done before. 

Watch it Monday, March 16, at 9:00 a.m. 

American Experience: Annie Oakley 

She was the toast of 19th century London, New York and Paris, and her fans included Chief Sitting Bull, Oscar Wilde and Queen Victoria. Annie Oakley excelled in a man’s world by doing what she loved, and won fame and fortune as the little lady from Ohio who never missed a shot.

Tune in on Monday, March 16, at 1:00 p.m. or watch American Experience: Annie Oakley online now. 

American Masters: Harper Lee

One of the biggest American bestsellers of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) was thought to be the first and only novel by Harper Lee. However, on July 14, 2015, Go Set a Watchman was released, featuring characters from Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Watch it Tuesday, March 17, at 1:00 p.m. You can watch more from American Masters on KCTS9.org.  

Craft in America: “Identity”

Artists explore issues of gender, race, culture and place, offering true expressions of their experience in this world.

Tune in on Tuesday, March 24, at 2:00 p.m. or stream it online now. 

Georgia O'Keeffe: A Woman on Paper 

Artist Georgia O’Keeffe has been called the “Mother of American Modernism,” well-known for her flowing, colorful works depicting flowers and plants, dramatic cityscapes and Southwestern landscapes. The half-hour documentary highlights the artist’s career while focusing on the little-known story of O’Keeffe’s time spent in Columbia, S.C. as an art instructor at Columbia College. 

Watch it Thursday, March 26, at 3:30 p.m. 

Call the Midwife 

Opening with the funeral of Winston Churchill in January 1965, Season 9 follows the women of Nonnatus House as they enter a bold and innovative era. As the tower blocks multiply and a new East End rises from the ashes of the old, society becomes more prosperous, but more complex. Our familiar team of midwives and medics face unexpected challenges as the population shifts, rules change and old diseases come back to haunt them.

Don’t miss the Call the Midwife Season 9 premiere on Sunday, March 29, at 8:00 p.m. 

The Ito Sisters 

The Ito Sisters tells the stories of three Japanese American sisters, interviewed in their 80’s and 90’s, as they recount how their immigrant parents struggled to make a life in America at the beginning of the 20th century. The family’s chronicle is set against the backdrop of the anti-Japanese movement in California, a 60-year campaign by politicians, journalists, landowners, labor leaders and others that culminated in the evacuation and incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast during World War II.

Watch the documentary Monday, March 30, at 1:00 p.m. 

Independent Lens: “One Child Nation”

Chinese filmmaker Nanfu Wang’s award-winning documentary explores the history of China's one-child policy, a population-control measure that made it illegal for couples to have more than one child. Although the policy ended in 2015, generations of mothers and children were scarred by the enforcement of this extreme social experiment. Wang digs fearlessly into her own personal life, weaving her experience as a new mother and the firsthand accounts of her relatives with archival propaganda material and testimony from victims and perpetrators alike.

Watch the documentary Monday, March 30, at 10:00 p.m. And, stream more from Independent Lens on KCTS9.org.

Black Ballerina 

Set in the overwhelmingly white world of classical dance, this film tells the stories of several black women from different generations who fell in love with ballet.

Tune in on Tuesday, March 31, 2:00 p.m.