Freedom, rights, obligations, the pursuit of happiness -- meanings of these terms are explored as this film develops its theme that the Declaration of Independence is not a dead historical document, but a vital force and guide to living today.
Did you know that the first cowboys were black? Using magnificent archives and testimonies from historians, Cécile Denjean restores justice to African-Americans in the story of the conquest of the West.
The first American space station Skylab is found in pieces scattered in Western Australia. Putting these pieces back together and re-tracing the Skylab program back to its very conception reveals the cornerstone of human space exploration.
In 1975, as America faced social and political upheaval, filmmakers turned chaos into art.
This documentary celebrates the Black cultural renaissance that existed in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, OK, and investigates the 100-year-old race massacre that left an indelible, though hidden stain on American history.
Learn about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, on the one hundredth anniversary of the crime, and how the community of Tulsa is coming to terms with its past, present, and future.
Controversy erupts over a New-Deal-era mural of the namesake of San Francisco’s George Washington High School. The thirteen-panel artwork "The Life of Washington" by Victor Arnautoff offers a view of the Founding Father both celebratory and critical, referencing his involvements in slavery and Native American genocide.
The History Channel marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11 with a new groundbreaking documentary about the biggest manhunt in human history. This documentary draws on interviews and stories told in the Museum's special exhibition of the same name, and features interviews with Jan Seidler Ramirez, chief curator and executive vice president of collections, to tell the sweeping tale, linking policy, intelligence, and military decision-making as they converged on a mysterious compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
When Thomas Jefferson died in 1826, he left behind a mountain of personal debt, which forced his heirs to sell his beloved Monticello home and all of its possessions. The Levys of Monticello is a documentary film that tells the little-known story of the Levy family, which owned and carefully preserved Monticello for nearly a century – far longer than Jefferson or his descendants. The remarkable story of the Levy family also intersects with the rise of antisemitism that runs throughout the course of American history.
Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.
November 2016 : The United States of America are about to elect their new president. AMERICA is a deep dive into the heart of Arizona, meeting the inhabitants of a little town crossed by Road 66, the broken inheritors of the American Dream who deliver us their hopes and fears.
Using newly uncovered historical documents, this documentary short pieces together the most complete and accurate account of the life of Viro Small ever told. Nicknamed "Black Sam of Vermont" for his ties to the Green Mountain State, Small was a pro wrestling pioneer who reached the height of his notoriety in 1880's New York City.
Take a trip back to Utah in the ’70s, when a new emerging culture clashed with tradition and institution. More than just disco and drugs, the 1970s were a time of great upheaval, socially, politically, and economically. Hear it from the mouths of the people who lived it, and see how the 1970s helped define Utah as a place for growth and a groovy new outlook on life.
Celebrate the 150th anniversary of the short-lived but far-reaching American Institution The Pony Express by following a historical re-enactment along the original trail from Sacramento California to Saint Joseph Missouri.
In a year of uprisings and political unrest, Stonebreakers documents the fights around monuments in the United States and explores the shifting landscapes of the nation's historical memory.
NYC, 1975 - the greatest, grittiest city in the world is minutes away from bankruptcy when an unlikely alliance of rookies, rivals, fixers and flexers finds common ground, and a way out.
Marijuana is the most controversial drug of the 20th Century. Smoked by generations to little discernible ill effect, it continues to be reviled by many governments on Earth. In this Genie Award-winning documentary veteran Canadian director Ron Mann and narrator Woody Harrelson mix humour and historical footage together to recount how the United States has demonized a relatively harmless drug.
In 30 years of a deeply committed career and 50 roles, Denzel Washington, double-Oscar winner, placed the figure of the Black man in all its complexity at the heart of the American paradoxes: from Black activist, rebel soldier to gangster torn between violence and charity. Voted best actor of the 21st century by the New York Times a few months ago, Denzel Washington, 65, has risen to the top of American cinema. As an Actor, director and producer, he has shaken up a "color line" as immutable as it is subtle. Often identified with his characters, he reveals himself to be disconcerting and paradoxical. As if he were holding up a mirror to America in which all of its contradictions and failings were reflected. A documentary that chronicles the extraordinary career of the world-renowned African-American actor.
