Back to Show
Independent Lens
Trailer | The Picture Taker
The vibrant life of Ernest Withers—civil rights photographer, and FBI informant—was anything but black and white. From his Memphis studio, Withers' nearly 2 million images were a treasured record of Black history but his legacy was complicated by decades of secret FBI service revealed only after his death. Was he a friend of the civil rights community, or enemy—or both?
Support Provided By

Unlock with PBS Passport
1:43:28
Hazing reveals the tradition of underground rituals that are abusive and sometimes deadly.

Unlock with PBS Passport
1:25:18
Three formerly incarcerated mothers fight to rebuild their lives outside of prison.

Unlock with PBS Passport
1:22:50
A provocative look at what it means to feel safe in an American classroom.

Unlock with PBS Passport
1:25:19
An activist detective searches for missing migrants in rural South Texas.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:25:48
Inside the family-run newspaper keeping local journalism alive.

Unlock with PBS Passport
54:25
When homosexuality was considered an illness to be “cured," LGBTQ activists fought back.

55:45
The murder of a police sergeant tests the D.A.’s resolve to never seek the death penalty.

Unlock with PBS Passport
1:35:39
Meet the indomitable Dolores Huerta, who led the fight for racial and labor justice.

Unlock with PBS Passport
55:02
Part Two of The Graduates

Unlock with PBS Passport
51:01
Primera parte de Los Graduados

Unlock with PBS Passport
55:32
Part One of The Graduates

Unlock with PBS Passport
54:08
The rich culinary tradition of soul food and its relevance to black cultural identity.