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Making Black America

MAKING BLACK AMERICA: THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE is a four-part series from executive producer, host and writer Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., which premiered October 4th on PBS stations nationwide. Professor Gates, with directors Stacey L. Holman and Shayla Harris, chronicle the vast social networks and organizations created by and for Black people beyond the reach of the “White gaze.” The series recounts the establishment of the Prince Hall Masons in 1775 through the formation of all-Black towns and business districts, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, destinations for leisure and the social media phenomenon of Black Twitter. Professor Gates sits with noted scholars, politicians, cultural leaders and old friends to discuss this world behind the color line and what it looks like today. MAKING BLACK AMERICA takes viewers into an extraordinary world that showcased Black people’s ability to collectively prosper, defy white supremacy and define Blackness in ways that transformed America itself.

Watch the full series with: PBS Passport now

Reimagining What It Means To Be Black In America Screening and Panel Discussion:

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February 25th at 1PM


LOCAL VOICES

Peter Johnson on coming to Dallas - Making Black America
Kimberley Yancy on Sacred Spaces – Making Black America
Maurice West on Kappa Alpha Psi – Making Black America
Kimberley Yancy on being a child of integration - Making Black America

THE POET’S STUDIO:

"Mosaic"
"Still"
"Iv For President"
"Pressure"
"We, Us, Our"
"My Self Worth"

Black Stories

A four-part series from Henry Louis Gates, Jr. which chronicles the vast networks and organizations created by and for Black people…

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FROM KERA NEWS

Black America Today

Read stories by KERA’s award-winning newsroom, about the successes and struggles of the Black community in and around North Texas…

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Thriving Communities


Shayla Harris, Producer/Director of the documentary “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine,” joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss…

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Texas Historically Black Colleges and Universities Map


Our Partners

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Major corporate support for MAKING BLACK AMERICA: THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE is provided by Bank of America. Corporate support is also provided by Johnson & Johnson. Major support is also provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; Ford Foundation; Open Society Foundations; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Gilder Foundation; The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations; and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Additional funding by The Inkwell Society and its members Howard and Abby Milstein; Jim and Susan Swartz; Georgette Bennett and Dr. Leonard Polonsky; Joanne L. Cassullo; Deval Patrick; Roger and Jurate Altman; David M. Cote; Betsy and Jesse Fink; John H. N. Fisher and Jennifer Caldwell; Nancy A. Garvey; Peter Schwabach and Misan Sagay Schwabach; Josh Steiner; Richard and Kathy Taylor; Charlotte Wagner; Richard Cohen; David and Nina Fialkow; Steven L. Rattner; Robert F. Smith; Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein; Connie Lurie; Nicole Commissiong and Darnell Armstrong; Demond and Kia Martin; Gwen and Peter Norton; May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation; Fletcher and Benaree Wiley; Beth Rudin DeWoody; Grant S. Johnson; and Vincent and Elaine Luke. Funding also provided by public television viewers.