Wow what a cool public TV show. NOT produced by KQED of course. What do they do with all that money?



SacTicket // TV/Radio // History of African Americans in the Valley documented



At 8 p.m. Thursday, Channel 6 (KVIE), in conjunction with the Sacramento Observer newspaper, explores this history in 'African Americans in California's Heartland,' which covers the period from the Gold Rush through the 1950s.



Footage includes interviews with historians and history buffs who have uncovered little-known stories of African American contributions to the development of the region.



Among those stories are the work of the black Buffalo Soldiers, who helped establish Yosemite and Sequoia national parks, and the career of James Beckwourth, who discovered the lowest path across the Sierra.



There also are stories of pioneer African American families -- one that owned much of Coloma, another that established a Sacramento restaurant frequented by politicians and businessmen -- and the Bakersfield-area settlement of Allensworth, the only town in the state to be founded and governed by African Americans.



'This is a story that has pretty much been untold until now,' says Corita Gravitt, producer of the half-hour documentary. 'This only scratches the surface because there is a great deal more to tell.'