Over the past two hundred years, names such as Frederick Douglass, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X, permeate our national consciousness. They along with other African-Americans, fought for American independence, the abolition of slavery, civil and equal rights.

While Prohibition made it to illegal to sell, transport or make alcohol in the United States, the top brass in the US Congress were able to stay well-lubricated – thanks to the nefarious work of famed bootlegger, George Cassiday.

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.

Investigates the daily lives of Native American peoples from different regions, distinguishes the differences between Woodland Native Americans and Desert Native Americans, as well as shows many artifacts and cultural elements of such tribes.

This program takes a look at the early 1940s for Blacks in film. Many black roles took on a more dignified humanitarian trend, spearheaded by the NAACP. The War Department during this pre-war period funneled thousands of dollars into the production of films that displayed the dedication and character of the black soldier. Unfortunately, for the black independent film industry, the pre-war rationing of film to the larger companies, coupled with the...

In this episode, Measha Brueggergosman performs “I Surrender All” with Nova Scotia Mass Choir, directed by Marko Simmonds. She then journeys to Cameroon to discover her Bassa roots and learn more about how slavery stole from a generation of families while performing a stirring solo version of “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord”. The Ebenezar English Choir in Cameroon, as well as Measha’s band at Southern Ontario’s Chalet Studios...

As the strain of total war increased on both sides, the Union and Confederacy each bitterly fought on in an effort to break the other's will. Topics in this program range from draft riots in the North and the Union's recruitment of African-Americans, to the hardships imposed on the South by the ongoing coastal blockade and Sherman's March to the Sea, to the wartime leadership of Lincoln and Davis, to the battles that shaped the beginning of the end...

Abolitionist and social reformer Frederick Douglass believed that the U.S. could become the greatest nation in history – if it accepted the defining principles set out in his speech, Composite Nation.

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regret) is a poetic and intimate film presenting moving testimonials and portraits of five black gay men. They each disclose their HIV-positive status and how they fiercely combat the stigma around the disease. Marlon Riggs died with HIV/AIDS in 1994 and was dedicated to confronting the urgency of the AIDS epidemic in African-American communities and especially among black gay men.

For 11 consecutive days, "Nightline" tracked every shooting in the U.S. and learned that over 500 people lost their lives. Hear the stories of police officers shot in the line of duty, domestic violence, self-defense, and accidental shootings.