Kevin Hart examines black achievements on History

PASADENA, Calif. — Comedian Kevin Hart will get a little more serious with a two-hour special looking at lesser-known but significant black historical achievements.

During a presentation to television critics Friday, the History cable network announced that the popular comedian and film star will produce and star in Kevin Hart Presents: The Black Man's Guide to History, due  later this year.

Guide opens with Hart's daughter believing black history seems limited to slavery and oppression after she watches 12 Years a Slave.

Hart shows her that's not the case, with scripted re-enactments about black historical figures, including former slave Robert Smalls, who commandeered a Confederate ship and pretended to be the captain to avoid capture; Mae Jemison, an astronaut who became the first African-American woman to travel in space; and Henry "Box" Brown, a slave who mailed himself to a free state in a crate to gain his freedom, the History announcement says.

Although Guide makes serious points, Hart assures viewers it will be funny, too.

“I’m very excited to be working with History on this show, because not only is it entertaining, and it’s hysterical, but it also is an important program for our country right now. We hope to make people laugh and learn a bit too," he said in a statement.