5 TV shows to watch: PBS docs teach important lessons on school integration

'American Experience'

Even if your education on American history was limited to PBS documentaries, you'd be one smart cookie. Leading the curriculum would be this long-running series that specializes in important stories that few know enough about to discuss in detail. Its latest two films are shining examples.

"The Busing Battleground" (8 p.m. Monday, TPT, Ch. 2) looks at how school desegregation tore Boston apart, triggering the kind of anger you're used to seeing in Red Sox parking lots. There are a lot of cameos from famous folks like Ted Kennedy, Whitey Bulger and Bill Russell. But what stays with you are the parents and politicians determined to fight change, no matter the costs.

"The Harvest: Integrating Mississippi's Schools" (8 p.m. Tuesday, TPT, Ch 2) covers some of the same territory, this time in Leland, Miss. It's a gentler, but equally troubling film. Pulitzer Prize winner Douglas A. Blackmon, who previously worked with TPT to bring his "Slavery by Another Name" book to the screen, revisits his hometown where he was among the first students to attend integrated classes. Blackmon discovers that the aspirations of those court-ordered policies in the '70s have not led to equality today. It's far from a sentimental journey.

'The Crossover: 50 Years of Hip Hop and Sports'

You don't need to know the lyrics to Run-D.M.C.'s "My Adidas" to know there's a strong link between rappers and sports stars. But this documentary offers some examples of that bond that probably weren't on your radar. Unfortunately, the filmmakers seemed to have a hard time recruiting a lot of well-known athletes to share their tales. You would think ESPN would have called in a few more favors. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN

'MTV Video Music Awards'

The network may now show more episodes of "Ridiculousness" than actual videos, but it's not shying away from celebrating the 40th anniversary of this ceremony. Diddy will be getting the Global Icon Award while Shakira is set to receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. 7 p.m. Tuesday, MTV

'Donyale Luna: Supermodel'

The first African American woman to grace the cover of Vogue is a largely unknown figure today. She was as enigmatic as she was gorgeous. Luna's daughter Dream Cazzaniga and filmmaker Nailah Jefferson look at how racism and drug use kept her from being as celebrated as the Black models who came after her. 8 p.m. Wednesday, HBO