Watch with PBS Passport

This episode is available to watch with PBS Passport.

Sign up

Already have an account? Sign in

Independent Lens

Ethnic Chauvinism or Modern Civil Rights Struggle?

Advertisement
Who Can Become American? | The History of White People in America, Ep 6

Who Can Become American? | The History of White People in America, Ep 6

This catchy, musical short chronicles the arbitrary system of race in the United States, which kept people who were not white in an ongoing battle of identity. See how immigrants had to play "race roulette" with a biased court system due to the Alien Naturalization Act of 1790,

Be Too Much | United States of Comedy, Ep 2

Be Too Much | United States of Comedy, Ep 2

Called "too much" her whole life, Austin comic Lea’h Sampson now embraces the "too much"-ness in her comedy. She confronts the challenges of life on the road while remaining her own true self, and of being a Black woman in a world where there

The Making of a Griot | United States of Comedy, Ep 1

The Making of a Griot | United States of Comedy, Ep 1

With comedy on lockdown, Haitian-born comedian Tanael Joachim a.k.a. TJ shows what it means to be a griot storyteller in Brooklyn. He wrestles with performing during a pandemic, whether "wokeness" is a thing, and mining comedy from being a fish out of water.

All God's Children | The History of White People in America, Episode 5

All God's Children | The History of White People in America, Episode 5

In this moving, animated short, poet Ashley M. Jones offers a lyrical historical account of Ann Williams, an enslaved Black woman who won her freedom in the 1830s. When faced with the torturous fate of being separated from her family and sold into Southern slavery, Williams took a literal leap

The Diary of Afong Moy | The History of White People in America, Episode 4

The Diary of Afong Moy | The History of White People in America, Episode 4

Acclaimed poet Sally Wen Mao narrates the animated history of Afong Moy, America’s first recorded Chinese woman. She was brought to America by merchants and was exhibited as a circus oddity in 1830s New York City. She was eventually managed and exploited by circus showman P.T. Barnum as

Wild Hogs and Saffron

Wild Hogs and Saffron

A wild hog hunt in the Ozarks leads to an unexpectedly vulnerable dialogue between Iranian American filmmaker Andy Sarjahani and his childhood friend Bubba as they navigate a polarized world. As their paths diverged in the increasingly anti-Middle Eastern years after 9/11, Andy's journey of self-examination tries