CBS Sports Airing 5-Hour 'Portraits In Black' Special Focusing On Black Athletes' Experience With Racism In Sports And Society

(CBS Local)- CBS Sports announced Monday that the network is devoting five hours this Sunday, September 6 to a special set of programming focused on the black athlete experience and the intersection of racism with sports and society in the United States. The special, titled Portraits In Black, will be hosted by The NFL Today's James Brown and will be devoted to stories that CBS Sports has put together detailing the history and struggles of Black athletes in sports in America.

Airing from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, the five hours of programming will include three documentaries followed by further commentary on recent events in the country with CBS Sports Connected specials.

"Portraits In Black offers a retrospective and current view of the civil rights struggle as it has played out in the world of sports," said Brown in a statement. "This day of programming provides a backdrop and context for today's racial strife and the continuing efforts for equality from the perspective of the athlete. This day also is our effort to further the conversation in a deep and meaningful way by amplifying and illuminating historical inequities with some familiar stories, as well as highlighting lesser known sports figures and their equally important experiences. If we truly listen and hear each other, we hope this day goes a long and significant way towards understanding and healing."

The breakdown of the five hours of programming is as follows:

1-2p.m. ET- Forward Progress: The Integration Of SEC Football

2-3p.m. ET- The Black 14: Wyoming Football 1969

3-4p.m. ET- Althea & Arthur

4-5p.m. ET- CBS Sports Connected: What It Means To Be Me

5-6p.m. ET- CBS Sports Connected: The American Dream

Forward Progress:The Integration of SEC Football tells the story of the effort to integrate SEC football which began at the top of Kentucky's state government before trickling down to the athletic department. It documents the experience of Nate Northington and Greg Page, who were both recruited to play at Kentucky.

The Black 14: Wyoming Footbal 1969 chronicles the experiences of the 14 Black Wyoming football players who attempted to peacefully protest BYU and the Mormon Church's ban on Black priests. Head coach Lloyd Eaton dismissed all 14 of the players when he learned of their plan to wear black armbands marked with number 14 during the BYU game.

Althea & Arthur features the tale of well known tennis player Arthur Ashe and the lesser known Althea Gibson who was a trailblazer in her own right, breaking the color barrier in women's tennis and golf.

In What It Means To Be Me, a host of CBS Sports talent pushes the discussion of systemic racism forward by examining topics such as education, mental health, parenting and more through personal stories. And in The American Dream, James Brown, Michelle Miller and Charles Davis take a look at the Black Lives Matter movement through the eyes of coaches and athletes.

The special begins at 1 p.m. EST this Sunday, September 6 on CBS.