Episodes
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Episode 4
S1 E4 - 52m 46s
Despite the gains of legal desegregation, hour four reveals a fervent desire for Black spaces and institutions that provide a safe place to debate, organize and celebrate. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores how Black cultural and political movements - from Black Power to Black Twitter - embraced a radical consciousness that championed a new generation.
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Episode 3
S1 E3 - 53m 11s
In hour 3, the Great Depression will devastate America’s economy and bring Black America to its knees. To survive, the Black community will use social networks to navigate the oppressive realities of Jim Crow. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores how social networks formed the cultural, economic and political foundation of the Civil Rights Movement which would transform America’s race relations.
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Episode 2
S1 E2 - 53m 11s
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.
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Episode 1
S1 E1 - 53m 16s
As Black people fought for full citizenship, hour one explores how free African Americans exercised their self - determination by building communities, establishing schools, and creating associations that would become the foundational pillars of Black America. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the organizations, networks and artistic impression created by and for Black people.
Extras + Features
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Episode 4 Preview
S1 E4 - 32s
Despite the gains of legal desegregation, hour four reveals how Black political and cultural movements - from Black Power to Black Twitter - provide a safe space to debate, organize and celebrate.
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Harlem, The Black Metropolis
S1 E3 - 1m 35s
This episode looks at the idea of the “Black Metropolis” – a Black city within a larger city – and explores the black businesses, churches and entertainment of Harlem.
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Episode 3 Preview
S1 E3 - 32s
To survive economic disaster, hour three shows how African Americans relied on informal economies, grassroots organizations and cultural innovations behind the color line to dismantle the oppressive realities of Jim Crow.
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Episode 2 Preview
S1 E2 - 32s
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.
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A’Lelia Walker Created Safe, Sacred places for Black Artists
S1 E2 - 1m 56s
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.”
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Annie Malone's and CJ Walker's Beauty Empires
S1 E2 - 1m 19s
"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.
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The Building of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
S1 E2 - 1m 15s
Since 1837, more than 100 HBCUs have been founded in the United States – most in the half century following the Civil War.
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The Evolution of Black Literature
S1 E1 - 52s
The first episode of "Making Black America" includes an exploration of the evolution of Black Literature, including a discussion on poet Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. She influenced her fellow Black writers to expand the subjects of their work to include universal feelings, such as love, loss, aspiration, to showcase the Black experience beyond oppression by White people.
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What is “Black Love?”
S1 E1 - 1m 55s
"A love that allows for grace... creating spaces for one to be their whole self, all the time."
"Radical love... radical empathy."
-- These are some of the ways "Making Black America" panelists respond when Henry Louis Gates, Jr. asks, "What is Black love?" -
Making Black America
S1 - 3m 20s
Making Black America: Through the Grapevine is a four-part series hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., that chronicles the vast social networks and organizations created by and for Black people -beyond the reach of the “White gaze.” Professor Gates sits with noted scholars, politicians, cultural leaders, and old friends to discuss this world behind the color line and what it looks like today.
Schedule
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