The NAACP and Its Architects

American Experience

History Series / 14 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.

Watch Latest: S37 E2

53m

How Captions Went from Niche to Necessity | Extended Audio Description | The Curb Cut Effect

8m 33s

EAD For the first three decades of television, there were no captions of any kind, leaving Deaf viewers unable to fully participate in a medium that shaped culture and conversation. The fight for closed captioning was a battle for access and inclusion. Deaf advocates spent decades pushing broadcasters, lawmakers, and technology companies to make television—and later, the internet—accessible.

How Captions Went from Niche to Necessity | ASL |The Curb Cut Effect

6m 48s

ASL For the first three decades of television, there were no captions of any kind, leaving Deaf viewers unable to fully participate in a medium that shaped culture and conversation. The fight for closed captioning was a battle for access and inclusion. Deaf advocates spent decades pushing broadcasters, lawmakers, and technology companies to make television—and later, the internet—accessible.

They Took Sledgehammers to Sidewalks – Here’s Why | Extended Audio Description | The Curb Cut Effect

8m 9s

EAD Curb cuts—those small ramps at the edge of sidewalks—are now a standard part of city design, but they didn’t exist until disability rights advocates demanded them. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, students with disabilities at the University of California, Berkeley began organizing for better access to public spaces.

They Took Sledgehammers to Sidewalks – Here’s Why | ASL | The Curb Cut Effect

7m 1s

ASL Curb cuts—those small ramps at the edge of sidewalks—are now a standard part of city design, but they didn’t exist until disability rights advocates demanded them. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, students with disabilities at the University of California, Berkeley began organizing for better access to public spaces.

How Captions Went from Niche to Necessity | The Curb Cut Effect

6m 48s

For the first three decades of television, there were no captions of any kind, leaving Deaf viewers unable to fully participate in a medium that shaped culture and conversation. The fight for closed captioning was a battle for access and inclusion. Deaf advocates spent decades pushing broadcasters, lawmakers, and technology companies to make television—and later, the internet—accessible.

They Took Sledgehammers to Sidewalks – Here’s Why | The Curb Cut Effect

7m 1s

Curb cuts—those small ramps at the edge of sidewalks—are now a standard part of city design, but they didn’t exist until disability rights advocates demanded them. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, students with disabilities at the University of California, Berkeley began organizing for better access to public spaces.

Trailer | ASL | Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

2m 23s

ASL The dramatic story of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The film highlights the determined people who literally put their bodies on the line to pass the legislation that changed the lives of all Americans.

Trailer | Extended Audio Description | Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

2m 50s

EXTENDED AUDIO DESCRIPTION The dramatic story of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The film highlights the determined people who literally put their bodies on the line to pass the legislation that changed the lives of all Americans.

Trailer | Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

2m 24s

The dramatic story of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The film highlights the determined people who literally put their bodies on the line to pass the legislation that changed the lives of all Americans.

Trailer | Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP

2m 15s

The story of civil rights hero Walter White — one of the most influential Black men in mid-century America and leader of the NAACP from 1929 to 1955, yet one of the least known figures in civil rights history.

Trailer | American Coup: Wilmington 1898

2m

American Coup: Wilmington 1898 tells the little-known story of a deadly race massacre and carefully orchestrated insurrection in North Carolina’s largest city in 1898. Stoking fears of “Negro Rule,” self-described white supremacists used intimidation and violence to destroy Black political and economic power and overthrow Wilmington’s democratically-elected, multi-racial government.

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