The Art of Clown | United States of Comedy, Ep 4

Get to know Los Angeles native Christina Catherine Martinez, a fascinating hybrid standup who walks the line somewhere between traditional comedy, modern clown, and performance artist.

Riddled with survivor's guilt after his unit lost 17 men during "Operation Enduring Freedom" in Afghanistan, Marine veteran Anthony Marquez makes it his mission to reconnect with the Gold Star families of the fallen. By carving and hand-delivering a battlefield cross for each of the families affected by loss, Anthony finds the path to heal himself.

In this moving, animated short, poet Ashley M. Jones offers a lyrical historical account of Ann Williams, an enslaved Black woman who won her freedom in the 1830s. When faced with the torturous fate of being separated from her family and sold into Southern slavery, Williams took a literal leap of faith to avoid the dreadful mandate.