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Covering
African-American history from the end
of the Civil War to the beginning of the
Civil Rights Movement in
four episodes,
this
landmark PBS series is the first time
this period of African-American history
will be explored in-depth on American
television.
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The
New York Times has called the series "remarkable...
this is no dispassionate history lesson.
It is an indictment, a narrative of broken
promises and stolen hopes. ...this
is public television doing its duty with
distinction."
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Named
after a popular 19th-century minstrel
song that stereotyped African Americans,
"Jim Crow" came to personify
the system of government-sanctioned racial
oppression and segregation in the United
States.
THE RISE AND FALL OF JIM CROW documents
this brutal and oppressive era, bring
the meaning of Black existence during
these troubled years to life through a
rare collection of firsthand accounts
and historical artifacts.
Demeaning treatment by day - Lynchings
and beatings by night. And a life of crushing
subordination for Southern Blacks that
was maintained by white supremacist laws
and customs.
But
in the face of these overwhelming odds,
large numbers of African Americans
and a corps of influential black leaders
bravely fought against the status quo,
amazingly acquiring for African Americans
the opportunities of education, business,
land ownership, and a true spirit of community.
The story of the struggle during this
period is told through the eyes of those
who experienced it, historical figures
such as W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington,
Ida B. Wells and Walter White, as well
as everyday heroes who dedicated their
energies, and sometimes their lives, to
gain their civil, political and economic
rights.
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For more on The Rise and Fall of Jim
Crowplease visit the official PBS
series website and the New York Life educational
companion website (see links below).
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