Back to Show
American Experience
Julius Lester - "The Folk Singer"
Julius Lester was teaching guitar and performing as a folk singer in New York City when he decided to go to Mississippi during Freedom Summer. Lester tells of his role in energizing the people gathered at those meetings and setting the stage for the organizers who called the crowds to action. He also reflects on the ever-present danger for participants in Freedom Summer.
Support Provided By

1:47:20
The story of a Mississippi town’s effort to integrate its public schools in 1970.

1:52:38
Revisit 1970s Boston, when court-mandated school integration unleashed racial unrest.

1:36:51
Casa Susanna was a refuge for transgender women and cross-dressing men in the 1950s-60s.

52:22
Unsung scientist Mária Telkes dedicated her career to harnessing the power of the sun.

1:22:39
Discover the story of the 1969 showdown between President Nixon and the antiwar movement.

Unlock with PBS Passport
52:36
Discover the unexpected history behind Monopoly, America’s favorite board game.

1:52:24
The influential author and anthropologist whose work reclaimed and honored Black life.

52:45
The story of the polygraph, the controversial device that transformed modern justice.

1:51:34
The Iran hostage crisis through the stories of those whose ordeal riveted the world.

1:52:24
The Iran hostage crisis through the stories of those whose ordeal riveted the world.

1:52:49
The Blinding of Isaac Woodard with Spanish subtitles.

1:52:23
How a horrific incident of racial violence became catalyst for the civil rights movement.