Henry Carter Hull

The eighty-year anniversary edition of the once-banned, #1 New York Times –bestselling novel of interracial romance and discrimination in Georgia. Alice Walker said it best: “The South can hardly be said to recognize itself without this book.” Igniting controversy upon its publication in 1944, Strange Fruit was banned in Boston and Detroit and the US Postal Service refused to send it through the mail until Eleanor Roosevelt intervened--all because...

OUT OF OMAHA is an intimate portrait of twin brothers Darcell and Darrell Trotter, two young black men coming of age in the racially and economically-divided Midwestern city of Omaha, Nebraska. Director Clay Tweel (GLEASON, FINDERS KEEPERS, THE INNOCENT MAN) met the Trotters when they were 17 and filmed them over a period of eight years. By intimately portraying the twins’ hopes and struggles – and the love and help they give and get along the...

Examine the main strands of religious music in the United States. Among the many you'll look at are spirituals (both European and African variations); religious chants from Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim traditions; and ring shouts and shape-note singing. Also, spend time with popular compositions like "Northfield" and "Amazing Grace."

How does music bring like-minded people together? In this episode, turn to three traditions of voluntary, public music in America: brass bands, powwows, and folk music festivals. Learn how each tradition, despite their unique sounds and histories, offers fellowship, reinforces bonds, and helps foster a sense of communal history.

Use classic children's music (everything from jump rope rhymes to lullabies) as a fascinating window into America's musical traditions and how they open up a plethora of musical doors and memories. Also, get an introduction to some of the many incredible treasures contained in the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings series.

Follow the story of the banjo, a musical instrument whose development is intertwined with larger American themes of slavery, conflict, struggle, ingenuity, and musical inventiveness. Plus, learn how musical instruments change shape and sound, and deepen your understanding of the ways we interpret cultural and musical ownership today.

What makes the city of New Orleans more musically extraordinary than other American cities? The answer: a rare combination of distinct musical and cultural influences coming together in one place. Professor Seeger closes out this series with an appreciation of the importance of place in American music.

Visit the Appalachian region of the Southeast and unearth the roots of "country music" (a term that wasn't used until the 1950s) in mountain "hillbilly" music. Along the way, consider some of the many tropes of this genre of music, exemplified by a song from 1947 called "Goodbye, Old Paint."

From executive producer Denis Leary, BURN is an action-packed, award-winning film exploring human struggles, hope and personal courage in the face of overwhelming odds. With vast stretches of abandoned buildings, the highest arson rate in the country, and a budget crisis of epic proportions, these brave men and women risk injury, disablement, and death to try and make a difference for the city they call home. The firefighters’ worst fears are realized...

Loosely based on a school explosion that took place in New London, Texas in 1937, this is the story of two teenagers: Naomi, who is Mexican, and Wash, who is black, and their dealings with race, segregation, love, and the forces that destroy people.