Watch free public media programs on civil rights, racial injustice and protest

Harvey Gantt and parents at court fighting for admission into Clemson University

 

APT (American Public Television) has curated the following list of programs currently available for FVOD/free streaming on PBS platforms to help further viewer  participation in the national dialogue on Civil Rights, Racial Injustice, and Protest.  

Free Video on Demand Links & Program Descriptions


A RIPPLE OF HOPE

Advised against appearing before an inner city crowd in Indianapolis the night Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Robert Kennedy delivered an extemporaneous speech that brought a sense of peace to the city. This film weaves together first-person accounts of that tumultuous day in 1968.


AFROPOP:  THE ULTIMATE CULTURAL EXCHANGE Season 11

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK actress Danielle Brooks will help guide audiences as they journey through AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange’s slate of documentary and short stories on contemporary life, art and culture in the African Diaspora. Season 11 of the trailblazing series highlights diverse issues, including social justice, politics, LGBTQ identity, fashion and violence against women.


AFROPOP:  THE ULTIMATE CULTURAL EXCHANGE Season 12

AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange explores stories of modern life in the African Diaspora with a slate of documentaries journeying through Brazil, Nigeria, Turkey, South Africa, the United States, Liberia and beyond. The films of season 12 will introduce audiences to new and unsung trailblazers in the Diaspora, and provide new viewpoints on stories and lives we thought we knew.


BACKS AGAINST THE WALL:  THE HOWARD THURMAN STORY

This film explores the extraordinary life of Howard Thurman, a teacher, poet and in his heart a “mystic,” and proponent of the non-violent struggle for social change. Jesse Jackson, Otis Moss, Jr and others speak about Thurman’s “spirit” being foundational in their lives. Congressman John Lewis calls him the “patron saint” of the Civil Rights Movement. Actor Keith David voices Thurman’s words.


BEYOND BARBADOS:  THE CAROLINA CONNECTION

Sometimes the history of a place begins elsewhere and the colony of South Carolina actually began somewhere else, almost two thousand miles across the sea. The settlement of Charles Towne that would grow into the colony of South Carolina owes its origins and success to a tiny island in the West Indies that most of us know nothing about.


DREAM LAND:  LITTLE ROCK'S WEST 9TH STREET

Little Rock, Arkansas's, West 9th Street was once a vibrant, African American business and entertainment district. Taborian Hall is the only remaining historic structure on West 9th Street and stands as a living witness of the street's former glory days.


FANNIE LOU HAMER:  STAND UP

Civil rights legend Fannie Lou Hamer is remembered by those who worked side by side with her in the struggle for voting rights. An African-American sharecropper from the Mississippi Delta, Hamer’s difficulty registering to vote in 1962 led to her career as an outspoken activist, congressional candidate, and fierce fighter for the rights of all.


FIGHTING ON BOTH FRONTS:  THE STORY OF THE 370TH

The remarkable, but little known, story of one of few African-American regiments to have fought in combat during World War I. They were America's unsung heroes - a group of men from Illinois, largely from Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. They fought on two fronts - the war against the Germans and the war against racism and inequality.


KARAMU:  100 YEARS IN THE HOUSE

Chronicles the incredible story of the oldest African-American performing arts theater in America, the Karamu House in the historic Fairfax neighborhood of Cleveland. This documentary highlights the key players, productions and claims to fame over the 100-year history of Karamu House.


LOOKING OVER JORDAN:  AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE WAR

The Civil War began as a means of preserving the Union. But to nearly four million African Americans, it held a much more personal promise.


REDEEMING UNCLE TOM:  THE JOSIAH HENSON STORY

Josiah Henson, a dynamic man with unyielding principles, overcame incredible odds to escape from slavery with his wife and children. His life inspired the character of ‘Uncle Tom’ in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 classic novel which is often mentioned as one of the sparks that ignited the Civil War. Critically acclaimed actor Danny Glover narrates the voice of Josiah Henson in this moving film.


THE EDUCATION OF HARVEY GANTT

In 1960, a talented African-American student from Charleston, Harvey Gantt, graduated from high school and decided to become an architect. Clemson College was the only school in South Carolina that offered a degree in his chosen field. In January of 1963, with the help of NAACP lawyer Matthew J. Perry, Gantt won a lawsuit against Clemson and was peacefully admitted to the college.


THE FUTURE OF AMERICA'S PAST Season 2

Join Ed Ayers, award-winning historian and co-host of the hit podcast BackStory, as he travels to places that define the most misunderstood parts of America’s past. Visit sites Americans struggle to discuss and learn from National Park Service interpreters, museum educators, and cutting-edge guides how they engage a diverse public with the fullness of our nation’s history.


THE GROVELAND FOUR

July, 1949: four young black men are wrongly accused of rape by a 17-year-old farm wife in rural Lake County, Florida. The case of “The Groveland Four” included a race riot, torture, multiple murders, two trials and a Supreme Court reversal. Though widely covered by the national press, the case has been largely forgotten... even though it helped lay a foundation for the Civil Rights Movement.


THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. CELEBRATION CONCERT WITH THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

The Cleveland Orchestra with the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Chorus perform.