The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross

Rise! (1940-1968)

“Rise!” examines the long road to civil rights, when the deep contradictions in American society finally became unsustainable. African Americans who fought fascism in World War II came home to face the same old racial violence. But mass media — from print to radio and TV — broadcast that injustice, planting seeds of resistance.

Rise! (1940-1968) - Preview

30s

Examine the long road to civil rights, when the contradictions in American society became untenable.

Previews + Extras

  • Ruby Bridges Desegregates a School: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ruby Bridges Desegregates a School

    S1 E5 - 2m 59s

    Six-year-old Ruby Bridges integrated an all-white elementary school in New Orleans in 1960, escorted by federal marshals. Six years earlier, the NAACP had won a major legal victory with Brown vs. the Board of Education. That case declared the doctrine of separate but equal schools was unconstitutional.

  • Civil Rights Movement Leaders in Conversation: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Civil Rights Movement Leaders in Conversation

    S1 E5 - 1h 18m

    In an engaging conversation about the Civil Rights Movement, civil rights pioneers Rep. John Lewis, Georgia 5th District; journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault; and Julian Bond, Chairman Emeritus of the NAACP, look back and ahead with Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. They also answer questions from the audience in a lively Q&A.

WETA Passport

Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.