The graduates of two Biloxi schools, one public and one private and both segregated, discuss their school days in Biloxi in the 1960s in a new program airing as a Black History Month salute on BTV this month.
Videographer August Taconi says his latest production features interviews with a dozen former students of Nichols Public School and the Catholic school Our Mother of Sorrows. The opus is a follow-up to 2013’s “City within a City,” which focused on life in segregated Biloxi in the ’60s.
“We brought you heartwarming and sometime tumultuous stories from the people living in a city within a city,” Taconi says, “and in Part 2 of ‘City within a City’ we found out how important education was to their future.”
Taconi, with the help of authors and historians Gordeon Jackson and Ray Bellande, culled interviews from an annual school reunion. Said Taconi: “We talked to some of these extraordinary people who made the transition from segregation to integration.”
You can see the original 18-minute “City within a City” each morning and evening at 6:27. The Nichols and OMS reboot, at 55 minutes, airs at 8 each morning and evening and at 2 each afternoon.
State of the City bows Feb. 11 at 8 p.m.
The Biloxi Bay chamber’s annual State of the City luncheon may be sidelined for the time being, but the State of the City moves forward.
Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will present the annual State of the City presentation on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 8 p.m. on BTV, and on the city’s Facebook and YouTube platforms. The presentation will have encores at 8 a.m., 8 p.m. and 2 p.m. Feb. 12-14.
Mardi Gras: A quick look back
The parades are not rolling in Biloxi this year, but you can take a fast-paced look at Mardi Gras parades in Biloxi in a 13-minute program airing on BTV in February.
See the redux at 6:13 mornings and evenings and 1:40 each afternoon.
Biloxi Cooks! has a new creation
Firefighter Anthony McGee will be cooking “Jumbo Twist,” a concoction that includes shrimp, chicken, mushrooms and more is the featured dish on this month’s episode of “Biloxi Cooks!”.
The show, which airs daily at 7 a.m., 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., also features Battalion Chief Jason Davis, and Firefighters Steven McCravey and Michael Williams.
Storytime: More from Gumbo Kelly
There’s a new lineup of stories — four of them, in fact — in “Storytime with Gumbo Kelly,” which airs mornings and evenings at 7:30 and each afternoon at 1:30.
How to watch BTV
BTV, the city’s municipal TV channel, is carried in Biloxi on Channel 56 on Sparklight and Channel 99 on AT&T UVerse (follow the prompts). The channel is also available online.
See BTV online now
See the BTV schedule for February
Video: A glimpse at February