American Experience

History Series / 15 Seasons

American Experience, TV's most-watched history series, brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

52m 54s

The Birth and Growth of Racism against Mexican-Americans

1m 44s

Racist attitudes against Mexican-Americans intensified in the 20th Century. Of mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry, Mexican-Americans did not fit into iron-clad racial categories: black or white.

From the film Freedom Riders: Victory for Nonviolence,...

2m 9s

Before getting on the bus, Freedom Riders participated in CORE training sessions, which included a demonstration of nonviolence in volatile situations. Rev. James Lawson and Julian Bond discuss how nonviolence courted to violence in order to attract publicity for the cause.

From the film Freedom Riders: The Media, part 1

1m 5s

Rioters turn violent against the Freedom Riders despite the presence of the media. The resulting photographs were "about as dramatic as anything I think anyone had ever seen coming out of the Civil Rights struggle," says Ray Arsenault. "The notion that just for the attempt to sit on the front of a bus, that you could risk your life, that people could try to burn you to death was incredible."

From the film Freedom Riders: The Media, part 2

1m 14s

In a news report from Herb Kaplow, the reporter recounts his experience when covering a Freedom Ride. "The mob came out and went straight to the reporters, and started beating them and kicking them and throwing their cameras down, smashing them on the ground." After the reporters were forced away, the mob turned on the Freedom Riders.

From the film Freedom Riders: Victory for Nonviolence,...

1m 6s

Rabbi Dresser and Delore Boyd comment on the power of nonviolent methods. Boyd points out that the tenacity of white participants opened her eyes to the fact that white people were not all the same.

From the film Freedom Riders: the Solid South

1m 11s

In his bid for the presidency, JFK had to tread carefully around the heart of the Democratic Party - the white voting south. John Patterson, Governor of Alabama from 1959 to 1963, speaks about his endorsement of Kennedy for president.

From the film Freedom Riders: Jim Crow Laws

19s

The segregation and disenfranchisement laws known as "Jim Crow" created a system of racial apartheid across the American South for more than 75 years. The laws affected almost every aspect of daily life, mandating segregation of schools, parks, libraries, drinking fountains, restrooms, buses, trains, and restaurants.

From the film Freedom Riders: Freedom to Travel, part 2

51s

Ray Arsenault discusses the importance of Irene Morgan, who took her case to the Supreme Court with Morgan vs. Virginia. However, the subsequent Supreme Court ruling of the unconstitutionality of segregated interstate bus travel, Julian Bond points out, was largely ignored in the segregated South.

From the film Freedom Riders: Freedom to Travel, part 3

34s

On September 22, 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) orders all "colored only" and "whites only" signs to be taken down in all bus and rail stations across the country. "This was the first unambiguous victory in the long history of the civil rights movement," says Ray Arsenault. "It raised expectations across the board for greater victories in the future."

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