TV Smarts

Some broadcast and cable programs contain material included in the public school curriculum and on standardized examinations. Here are home-viewing tips:

* Today--”Civil Rights Martyrs: Free at Last” (TLC, 9-11 p.m.) Broadcast in observance of Black History Month, this documentary uses archival material, interviews with survivors and dramatic re-creations to present the stories of 12 victims of racial violence during the ‘50s and ‘60s in the South. Black and white activists lost their lives in the struggle, including Medgar Evers, Viola Liuzzo, Vernon Dahmer Jr., the Rev. James Reeb, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwermer and James Chaney. Actor Steve Harris (“The Practice”) narrates.

* Friday--”48 Hours to Launch” (CNN, 7-8 p.m. repeating 10-11 p.m.) This documentary follows events at an airline, Jetblue, a start-up company preparing to operate flights between New York and Florida, during the last few hours before putting the first plane full of passengers in the air. “Higher Ground” (FAM, 9-10 p.m.) The episode titled “What Remains,” in a drama series about a wilderness school for troubled teens, deals with their discovery of prehistoric human remains in a cave and their roles in the ensuing conflict between government anthropologists and local Native Americans. Meghan Ory and Joe Lando star. “Wonders of the African World With Henry Louis Gates Jr.” (KCET, 9-11 p.m.) For those who missed the initial airing of this excellent cultural-historical series, it’s being rerun in this time slot, two episodes each Friday until Feb 25.

* Saturday--”Abe Lincoln in Illinois” (TCM, 2-4 p.m.) This classic movie about Lincoln’s life leading up to the White House is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Robert Sherwood. Raymond Massey stars. Available on video.

* Sunday--”The True Story of Mutiny on the Bounty (HIST, 2-3 p.m.) This history documentary in the “World Justice” series describes events, romanticized in many movies, that took place on a 19th-century British sailing ship. Compare with versions available on video, reenacted by Gable, Brando or Gibson. Three classic novels, “Mutiny On the Bounty,” “Men Against the Sea” and “Pitcairn’s Island,” available in paperback, also are based on these events. “60 Minutes” (KCBS, 7-8 p.m.) Lesley Stahl examines the book publishing industry practice of not checking facts behind what authors write. As reported last fall in a New York Times investigation of a discredited George W. Bush biography, fact-checking is commonly “not the role of a publisher.” “Sally Hemings” (KCBS, 9-11 p.m.) This is a dramatic miniseries based on various historical accounts of the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and his slave, Sally Hemings. Carmen Ejogo, Sam Neill, Diahann Carroll and Mario Van Peebles star. Series concludes Wednesday 9-11 p.m.

* Monday--”The Duel” (KCET, 9-10 p.m.) This documentary about the most famous gunfight in American history is actually an important study in political philosophy--contrasting the ideas of a U.S. secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, with those of a U.S. vice president, Aaron Burr, who shot Hamilton dead in 1804 and got away with it.

* Tuesday--”Civil War Journal: The 54th Massachusetts” (HIST, 8-9 p.m.) This documentary about the U.S. Army’s first African American regiment provides valuable information for comparison with the movie “Glory,” featuring Denzel Washington, available on video.

* Wednesday--”Pyrothechnics” (TLC, 10-11 p.m.) This is a science documentary about what happens behind the scenes at a spectacular fireworks display.

Compiled by Richard Kahlenberg in consultation with Crystal J. Gips, dean of the School of Education, College of St. Rose, Albany, N.Y. Columns available at https://www.latimes.com/tvsmarts