The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross

Gr 9 Up—That the long and checkered history of racial injustice in the United States has produced a society in which racism is arguably ingrained, that the unconscious assumption of white privilege still exists, is not the main subject of this fine PBS series. It is, however, an unavoidable subtext. This six-hour series, written and presented by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, begins with the origins of slavery in Africa and moves through the next five centuries of historic events, as the African American community forges their own social structures, religious perspectives, and cultural norms against a background of repression and denigration. Rich with riveting details, the series clearly points out that the community is not a uniform entity, and that differences have existed since the early days on American soil. The interviews with subject experts and, as the series moves toward the present day, with men and women who have lived the African American experience, are deeply informative, moving, and at once hopeful and distressing. Thought provoking does not begin to cover the series; and it leaves one wondering, as Cornell West opines in the final hour, if racism cannot be mended unless our society is torn down and rebuilt. Essential viewing for high school and university students, this program moves one to tears and to much-needed self-examination.—Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA