LTC Library: Black History Month: Videos

Making Black America

This four-hour series, hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., chronicles the vast social networks and organizations created by and for Black people-beyond the reach of the “White gaze.” Gates takes viewers into an extraordinary world that showcases Black people’s ability to collectively prosper, defy white supremacy and define Blackness in ways that transformed America itself.

Making Black America: Episode 1
As Black people fought for full citizenship, hour one explores how free African Americans exercised their self-determination by building communities, establishing schools, and creating associations that would become the foundational pillars of Black America. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the organizations, networks and artistic impression created by and for Black people.
Making Black America: Episode 2
As Jim Crow laws went into effect, African Americans built a “life behind the veil” to meet their educational, economic, political, and cultural needs. Hour two explores the genesis of these organizations and networks that paved the way for Black life to flourish. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. highlights the progress Black people made during the early 20th Century.
Making Black America: Episode 3
In hour three, the Great Depression devastates America’s economy and brings Black America to its knees. To survive, the Black community uses social networks to navigate the oppressive realities of Jim Crow. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores how social networks formed the cultural, economic and political foundation of the Civil Rights Movement which would transform America’s race relations.
Making Black America: Episode 4
Despite the gains of legal desegregation, hour four reveals a fervent desire for Black spaces and institutions that provide a safe place to debate, organize and celebrate. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores how Black cultural and political movements - from Black Power to Black Twitter - embraced a radical consciousness that championed a new generation.

The Harvest: Integrating Mississippi's Schools

When the Supreme Court issued an order to fully and immediately desegregate schools in October 1969, Leland Mississippi finally met the demand put forth in the 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision. In the fall of 1970, a group of children entered school as part of the first class of Black and white students who would attend all 12 grades together.

The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song

Hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr, this series chronicles the rich history of an institution at the heart of the African American experience. Beginning with enslavement, traveling through Emancipation, Jim Crow, the Great Migration, the Civil Rights movement, and ending in the present-day, Gates takes viewers on a journey through time, focusing on the key events, charismatic figures, political debates, and musical traditions that have shaped, and been shaped by, the Black Church. The series also explores the complexity of these spaces of worship at a time when many believe it is at a crossroads. A chorus of leading scholars, ministers, and cultural influencers who grew up in the Black Church will weigh in and give meaning to events past and present.

The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song - Episode 1
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the roots of African American religion beginning with the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the extraordinary ways enslaved Africans preserved and adapted their faith practices from slavery to emancipation.
The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song - Episode 2
Discover how the Black Church expanded its reach to address social inequality and minister to those in need, from the Jim Crow South to the heroic phase of the civil rights movement and the Black Church’s role in the present.

Boss: The Black Experience in Business

From award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson comes a film that educates, informs, and examines more than 150 years of African-American men and women who have embodied the qualities that are the heart of the American entrepreneurial spirit.

Ken Burns: Jackie Robinson

This two-part, four-hour series tells the story of an American icon whose life-long battle for first class citizenship for all African Americans transcends even his remarkable athletic achievements. “Jackie Robinson,” Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “was a sit-inner before sit-ins, a freedom rider before freedom rides.” Directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon.

Ken Burns: Jackie Robinson, Part 1
Robinson rises from humble origins to integrate Major League Baseball, performing brilliantly despite the threats and abuse he faces on and off the field and, in the process, challenges the prejudiced notions of what a black man can achieve.
Ken Burns: Jackie Robinson, Part 2
Robinson uses his fame to speak out against injustice, alienating many who had once lauded him for “turning the other cheek.” After baseball, he seeks ways to fight inequality, but as he faces a crippling illness, he struggles to remain relevant.

Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches

Inspired by David Blight’s Pulitzer Prize winning biography, this documentary brings to life the words of our country’s most famous anti-slavery activist. Actors Nicole Beharie, Colman Domingo, Jonathan Majors, Denzel Whitaker and Jeffrey Wright draw from five of Douglass’ legendary speeches, to represent a different moment in the tumultuous history of 19th century America.