Talleah Bridges McMahon

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. embarks on a deeply personal journey through the last fifty years of African American history. Joined by leading scholars, celebrities, and a dynamic cast of people who shaped these years, Gates travels from the victories of the civil rights movement up to today, asking profound questions about the state of black America, and our nation as a whole.

The second hour dramatizes the diverging paths for African Americans and outbursts of white backlash that emerged in the 1970s and early '80s. Gates explores how African Americans found new sources of hope from the creation of hip-hop.

The final hour brings the story up to the present day. Gates celebrates how far African Americans have come toward equality and raises hard questions about the obstacles that remain.