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

Trailer | Mr. Polaroid

1m 45s

Before the iPhone, the Polaroid camera let people instantly chronicle their lives. Along with instant photo mania, its company culture became the model for Silicon Valley. Mr. Polaroid is the story of Edwin Land, the man behind the camera.

Audiobooks and the accessibility revolution | Extended Audio Description | The Curb Cut Effect

7m 40s

Audiobooks are a billion-dollar industry, a staple of modern entertainment. But what most people don’t realize is that their roots trace back to a community that desperately needed them—the blind.

Audiobooks and the accessibility revolution | ASL | The Curb Cut Effect

6m 38s

Audiobooks are a billion-dollar industry, a staple of modern entertainment. But what most people don’t realize is that their roots trace back to a community that desperately needed them—the blind.

Audiobooks and the accessibility revolution | The Curb Cut Effect

6m 38s

Audiobooks are a billion-dollar industry, a staple of modern entertainment. But what most people don’t realize is that their roots trace back to a community that desperately needed them—the blind.

How one carrot peeler revolutionized design | Extended Audio Description | The Curb Cut Effect

7m 12s

EAD Did you know that many of the household products we use every day were originally designed by or for people with disabilities? Take OXO's Good Grips vegetable peeler, for example, designed by Sam and Betsey Farber so that Betsey, who had arthritis, could cook without pain.

How one carrot peeler revolutionized design | ASL | The Curb Cut Effect

6m 18s

ASL Did you know that many of the household products we use every day were originally designed by or for people with disabilities? Take OXO's Good Grips vegetable peeler, for example, designed by Sam and Betsey Farber so that Betsey, who had arthritis, could cook without pain.

How one carrot peeler revolutionized design | The Curb Cut Effect

6m 18s

Did you know that many of the household products we use every day were originally designed by or for people with disabilities? Take OXO's Good Grips vegetable peeler, for example, designed by Sam and Betsey Farber so that Betsey, who had arthritis, could cook without pain.

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.

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