Independent Lens

Indie Films Series / 8 Seasons

Authentic stories. Extraordinary people.

Watch Latest: S26 E1

1h 16m / TV-PG

End Black History Month?

1m 55s / TV-PG

Filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman sets off on a cross-country campaign to end Black History Month. His insightful and humorous journey explores the complexity and contradictions of relegating an entire group's history to one month in a so-called "post-racial" America.

More than a Month: Where It's At With Marco and Shukree!

4m 29s / TV-PG

Styled as an homage to early, locally-produced public affairs programming, this companion piece to the film More Than a Month featues a amusing interview between the film's director, Shukree Tilghman, and executive producer, Marco Williams.

More than a Month: How Does Confederate History Mesh with Bl

3m 39s / TV-PG

When filmmaker Shukree Tilghman goes to a gathering of Confederate history enthusiasts in Virginia, he feels as if he has stepped behind enemy lines. While participants advocate for the establishment of a special month dedicated to their own heritage and history, it seems that some participants do not see how the issue of slavery and the African American experience intersects with their own.

More Than a Month: Black History Month...There's an App for

1m 9s

Shukree Tilghman, the director of the Independent Lens film More Than a Month, speaks with PBS Newshour's Hari Sreenivasen about the special interactive iPhone app -- More Than a Mapp -- that his team has developed to track and showcase important African American historical sites.

More Than a Month: Philadelphia's Innovative Black History R

5m 1s / TV-PG

In 2005, the Philadelphia public school district became the first in the country to establish a mandatory African American history graduation requirement. Now, students spend an entire year looking at the African American experience.

More than a Month: Pounding the Pavement for Black History

2m 29s / TV-PG

Filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman hits the streets of New York to collect signatures in favor expanding Black History Month beyond February. In the process, he hears arguments both for and against observing a single Black History Month.

The Black Power Mixtape: Angela Davis on Seeing Herself

2m 30s / TV-PG

Dr. Angela Davis speaks with Hari Sreenivasen of the PBS NewsHour about her 1972 interviews with Swedish journalists that appear in the documentary film "The Black Power Mixtape 1967 - 1975.

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975: A Point Where Caution End

2m 35s / TV-PG

A 1968 speech by Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver sets the stage for a contemporary reaction by singer Erykah Badu about how African American self-defense and community empowerment was depicted by the mainstream media and politicians as acts of radical aggression.

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975: A Civil Rights Firebrand

2m 46s / TV-PG

Hip hop musician Talib Kweli recounts how he became a figure of interest to federal officials while he was researching the speeches of Stokely Carmichael ... 40 years after the fact.

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-9175: A Miscarriage of Justice

1m 43s / TV-PG

In 1970, activist and scholar Angela Davis was charged with involvement in a criminal incident in which a young African American man attempted to help two black defendants escape from a California courtroom. In this 1972 interview with her lawyer, Dennis Roberts, he describes how the case against Ms. Davis was based solely on circumstantial evidence and was potentially a conspiracy against her.

Looking Back at the Black Power Movement

1m 59s / TV-PG

In the 1960s and 70s, Swedish filmmakers arrived in America to explore the Black Power movement which the U.S. media saw as a violent threat. Thirty years later in the cellar of a Swedish television station, an amazing collection of unseen interviews was discovered featuring some of the key personalities of the era.

Daisy Bates: Civil Rights Hero Who Put Her Life on the Line

1m 2s / TV-PG

Daisy Bates was a complex, unconventional, and largely forgotten heroine of the civil rights movement who led the charge to desegregate the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.

A Feminist Before the Term Was Invented

1m 8s / TV-PG

As a black woman who was a feminist before the term was invented, Daisy Bates refused to accept her assigned place in society. This film tells the story of her life and public support of nine black students who registered to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas -- pitting a president against a governor and a community against itself.

Black History is American History

30s

Black history is powerful, inspiring, and American. Join us in February as we celebrate Black History Month on Independent Lens, where culture and diversity are featured all season long. Only on PBS.

Daisy Bates: Turning a Childhood Tragedy into the Pursuit of

1m 32s / TV-PG

As soldiers began streaming into Little Rock to maintain order during the desegregation of all-white Central High School, Daisy Bates reflected on a driving force behind her own activism: the murder of her own mother when she was a child.

Daisy Bates: Retiring from the Struggle, But Not From the Ca

1m 17s / TV-PG

In later years, Daisy Bates returned to journalism, working tirelessly for the Arkansas State Press. However, after five years of working long days and late nights, she realized the pressure of running a weekly newspaper was too much for her.

Have You Heard From Johannesburg: The Secret Intrigue That H

3m 46s / TV-PG

The anti-apartheid movement used a complex network of covert strategies involving cover identities, disguises, and secret messages to facilitate communication between the exiled ANC Deputy President Oliver Tambo and the imprisoned Nelson Mandela. Don't miss "Free at Last," the final episode of the landmark series, "Have You Heard from Johannesburg," airing January 26, 2012 (check local listings).

Free At Last - A Preview

3m 40s / TV-PG

South Africans tell the story of the most important effort in the anti-apartheid campaign of the 80's: the alliance that brought together freedom fighters in South Africa as never before. The UDF protests climax in a fierce campaign of defiance, and internationally, Nelson Mandela becomes a household name as the campaign to free him ignites a worldwide crusade.

The Bottom Line - A Preview

3m 2s / TV-PG

Boycotts and divestment campaigns bring the anti-apartheid movement into the lives and communities of people around the world, helping everyday people understand and challenge Western economic support for apartheid. Faced with attacks at home and growing chaos in South Africa, international companies pull out in a mass exodus, causing a financial crisis in the now-isolated South Africa.

Have You Heard From Johannesburg: A Very Public Protest Agai

1m 45s / TV-PG

On Thanksgiving Eve in 1984, Congressman Walter Fauntroy made national news when he and two other prominent protestors were arrested at the South African Embassy in Washington D.C. during a sit-in protest. Don't miss "From Selma to Soweto," the third episode of the landmark series, "Have You Heard from Johannesburg," airing January 19, 2012 (check local listings).

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