Slavery by Another Name (8 p.m., PBS/Ch. 7) premiered just weeks ago at the Sundance Film Festival. Monday, it airs nationally on PBS - and it's well worth watching.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Douglas A. Blackmon, "Slavery by Another Name" is nothing short of shocking. It chronicles how little changed in post-Emancipation South - "an astonishing failure on the part of an entire society," Blackmon said. "Mind-boggling, really."
After President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, thousands of Americans were systematically re-enslaved to meet the South's demand for cheap labor, according to Catherine Allan, from Twin Cities Public Television, and "Slavery's" executive producer.
"A loophole in the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, except in the case of punishment for a crime," she said. "And within that loophole, it became a crime in the South to be unemployed, to leave one job for another one, to sell cotton after sundown, to speak too loudly in the company of white women."
What's distinctive about "Slavery" is that it features descendants of the enslaved and of the enslavers, a decision that director Sam Pollard said he at first resisted. "Most documentaries that I've worked on, you don't have descendants who talk about their reactions to what they've heard and what they've read," he said. "But it was one of the best decisions we ever made."
Among those descendants is Susan Tuggle Burnore, whose great-grandfather murdered 11 slaves working on his farm. He was the only white man convicted of first-degree murder of an African American between 1866 and 1966.
Burnore said discovering that history was "devastating" for her family, but she and her brothers came to embrace the information simply because it was true. Some of her uncles and aunts expressed deep feelings of shame and denial, and were horrified that Burnore would be involved with the documentary.
On Feb. 13, the day the documentary first airs, "I probably won't hang out in my hometown that day," she said.
Blackmon said the descendants help bring the story alive. "They represent that connection in a very vital way," the author said. "They're the stars of the film."
Elsewhere on TV ...
NBA (6 p.m., ROOT): Utah Jazz at New Orleans Hornets
How I Met Your Mother (7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Barney meets his match.
The Bachelor (7 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): Ben and the remaining women travel to Belize as he struggles to decide which four women he will escort home to meet their families.
The Voice (7 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): Auditions continue.
House (7 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13): Chase treats a nun who's about to take her vows.
Gossip Girl (7 p.m., CW/Ch. 30): Blai plays Cupid; Serena witnesses something shocking.
Being Human (7 and 9 p.m., Syfy): Josh is determined to find a cure for the whole werewolf thing.
2 Broke Girls (7:30 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Caroline and Max wind up spending Valentine's Day at the hospital.
Two and a Half Men (8 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Zoey and Lindsay are at each other's throats.
Alcatraz (8 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13): A criminal returns and starts planting bombs around San Francisco.
Hart of Dixie (8 p.m., CW/Ch. 30): Wade talks Lemon into helping him with a scheme.
Mike & Molly (8:30 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Mike forgets to make plans for Valentine's Day.
Lost Girl (8 and 10 p.m., Syfy): Bo is hired by a Dark Fae.
Hawaii Five-0 (9 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): The governor threatens to fire one of the team members.
Castle (9:01 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): Castle and Beckett have to work with a CIA agent.
Smash (9 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): Ivy and Karen battle for the role of Marilyn.
Pretty Little Liars (9 and 11 p.m., ABC Family): "A" makes trouble for Caleb.
Dog Show (9 p.m., USA): The 136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
The Lying Game (10 p.m., ABC Family): Sutton encourages Ethan to spend time with his father.
