Episode 2

Since 1837, more than 100 HBCUs have been founded in the United States – most in the half century following the Civil War.

"Making Black America" explores how Annie Malone and CJ Walker built their beauty empires. Both women envisioned their businesses as more than money-making enterprises, and also operated as a vehicle to create economic opportunity for Black women and a home for culture and community.

Madame CJ Walker's daughter, A’Lelia Walker, made an astounding impact building Black community and Langston Hughes crowned her “the joy goddess of Harlem’s 1920s.”

As Jim Crow laws went into effect, African Americans built a “life behind the veil” to meet their educational, economic, political, and cultural needs. Hour two explores the genesis of these organizations and networks that paved the way for Black life to flourish. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. highlights the progress Black people made during the early 20th Century.