When the Civil War ended in 1865, more than four million slaves were set free. Over 70 years later, the memories of some 2,000 slave-era survivors were transcribed and preserved by the Library of Congress. These first-person anecdotes, ranging from the brutal to the bittersweet, have been brought to vivid life in this unique HBO documentary special, featuring the on-camera voices of over a dozen top African-American actors.

Whoopi Goldberg
as Narrator (voice)

Angela Bassett
as

Michael Boatman
as

Roscoe Lee Browne
as

Don Cheadle
as

Ossie Davis
as

Ruby Dee
as

Robert Guillaume
as

Jasmine Guy
as

Samuel L. Jackson
as