African-American Issues
"Awakenings" - This 60-minute program focuses on the period from 1945 to 1956, highlighting the events that began the modern black freedom struggle. Appropriate for grades 7-12 and adult audiences.
"Blacks and the Constitution" - Hosted by NBC News correspondent Norma Quarles, this 60-minute program discusses the impact the Constitution has had on black Americans and the integral part the Supreme Court plays in pursuing the safeguards provided by the Constitution. Appropriate for a high school and adult audience.
"Journey to Freedom" - Members of Sweet, Sweet, Love Production Co. present the black struggle for freedom and equal rights by taking on the roles of such historic figures as Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks & Martin Luther King, in this live performance held at the New Jersey Law Center. Appropriate for all audiences. (45 minutes)
"Murder in Mississippi" - Thirty years after "Freedom Summer" in Mississippi, this program retraces the murders of three young men by the Ku Klux Klan, which shocked the nation and changed the course of the civil rights movement. The program recounts the events leading to the murders, explores the volatile atmosphere following the discovery of their bodies, the reaction nationwide to their deaths and the long process involved in seeking justice in a place where segregation was part of the state Constitution and violence against African-Americans was common. Appropriate for middle, high school and adult audiences. (52 minutes)
"Eyes on the Prize" (7 videos) - These videos transport viewers to key events in the history of the civil rights movement from the 1950s to present day. Two events of the mid-50s propelled the civil rights movement into the headlines; the Mississippi lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till, and the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott, inspired by Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat to a white man. Walk with hundreds of thousands of protestors to the triumphant 1963 March on Washington. By the mid-60s, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. confronts the powerful political machinery of Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley. As America enters the turbulent '70s, African Americans begin celebrating their own culture. Appropriate for middle, high school and adult audiences. (Approx. 14 hrs. on 7 videos) **The entire series may be loaned with one $100 deposit .**
Race - The Power of an Illusion - This three-part program questions the idea of race as biology. The first episode, The Difference Between Us, uses contemporary science to examine the assumption that humans can be categorized into different groups according to physical traits. The Story We Tell, the second episode, uncovers the roots of the race concept in North America and episode three, The House We Live In, explores how race resides in politics, economics and culture. Appropriate for high school and adult audiences. (Each episode is approximately 56 minutes)
Scottsboro: An American Tragedy - This Oscar-nominated documentary recounts the 1931 Alabama case of nine black teenagers who were falsely accused of rape by two white women. The trial would yield two momentous Supreme Court decisions. Appropriate for high school and adult audiences. (90 minutes)