Descendants of African-Americans who began their lives in America as kidnapped slaves were then deprived of civil rights by "Jim Crow" laws. Leaders inspired others to overcome racial prejudice and legal obstacles. These stories highlight the ups and downs of black history.
Harriet Tubman decides she must try to find freedom by escaping slavery.
How, and why, did Harriet Tubman help the Union Army during the American Civil War?
Throughout their ordeal, slave voices show that the human spirit can overcome almost anything.
Slaves are sold as property as though they are animals; many are beaten and families are split up.
Carl Brashear is born in 1931 to sharecropping parents, who live in Kentucky during the time of restrictive "Jim Crow Laws."
Jackie Robinson grows up in California where, after youthful troubles, he becomes an expert athlete in football, basketball, baseball and track.
During World War II there is a policy of racial discrimination in the military, but Lt. Jack Robinson decides to challenge that policy.
Jackie Robinson refuses to leave his seat on a bus and subsequently faces a court martial.
U.S. Navy psychiatrist Lieutenant Commander Williams is the inspiration for Denzel Washington's character "Jerome Davenport.'
To keep blacks from becoming voters, Mississippi's constitution forces educational requirements on them.
John Newton, a former slave trader, writes a journal telling of the horrors of the slave ship.
John Quincy Adams argues in defense of the Africans.
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