(chicagotribune.com) Not every African-American is enthralled by the travails of rapper Lil’ Kim, who lied to a grand jury about a shooting and served 366 days in prison. So while her last two weeks as a free woman might make for dramatic reality television and brilliantly cynical marketing, it isn’t the most constructive TV programming around. That’s why Black Entertainment Television, which airs “Lil’ Kim: Countdown to Lockdown” and has gone after the 18- to 25-year-old African-American market since 1980, finally has some programming competition — TV One and the Black Family Channel.

“Bob Johnson was such a pioneer and so far ahead of the curve that no one really understood,” says Robert Townsend, a friend of the BET founder and, as president and chief executive officer of the Black Family Channel, a competitor. “Then I think everybody else started looking — `Hey, he’s got it right. Start creating your own images.’”

The BFC and TV One, on the Comcast digital-cable grid in the Chicago area along with BET, have taken this advice to heart. Here’s a sampling of current shows on the trio of African-American cable networks. (“Lil’ Kim: Countdown to Lockdown” is no longer on the air, but it’s available on iTunes.)

(Click here for the list)

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This would be a good time to quit the ranting over the bad aspects of Black television and let these channels know what shows you do like. If you have an idea, share it with them.

BET

TV One

Black Family Channel