Docuseries Great Migrations Tells the Story of Black Movement in America
Emmy-nominated executive producer, host and writer Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the transformative impact of Black migration on American culture and society in a brand new four-part docu-series premiering this month. Great Migrations: A People On The Move airs Tuesdays, January 28 through February 18, at 9pm on CET/ThinkTV16 and the PBS App.
Since the beginning of human existence, movement has defined how we evolved and created identities, communities and nations-states. Although it is not exclusive to any one group or ethnicity, it is especially significant for anyone who has ever been denied movement. From forced migrations from Africa, followed by centuries of enslavement, to immigration today, Great Migrations shows how and why movement has been such a defining feature of the Black experience.
“The Great Migration was not just a seismic historical event; it’s an ongoing story,” Gates said in a press release. “Our series focuses on three dramatic migrations that have profoundly shaped the African American experience and redefined what it means to be ‘Black’ in this country: the great migration from the Deep South to the North and West; the reverse migration back to the South, and most recently the astonishing large migration of Africans and West Indians to this country in recent decades.”
From “The Great Migration” in 1910 to today, each episode explores a different “wave” of Black migration in America during the 20th and 21st centuries. Gates explores how these migrations shaped our nation by exploring the meaning behind them, such as the political or economic pressures that inspired people to move. Some migrations may have been motivated by hope or fear, while others had no choice involved.
The series features interviews with dozens of journalists, scholars and experts, including political leader Stacey Abrams, artist George F. Baker III and journalist Charles Blow.
Learn more about the episode air dates and details below:
Episode 1 “Exodus”
Tuesday, January 28, at 9pm on ThinkTV16
Explore the first wave of the Great Migration (1910–1940), when more than a million Black Americans fled the Jim Crow South for the promised lands of the North, forever changing the country and themselves.
Episode 2 “Streets Paved in Gold”
Tuesday, February 4, at 9pm on ThinkTV16
Explore the second wave of the Great Migration (1940-1970), and discover how Northern and Western Black communities matured through migration and transformed the cultural and political power of Black America.
Episode 3 “One Way Ticket Back”
Tuesday, February 11, at 9pm on ThinkTV16
See how the reverse migration of Black Americans to the South—driven by mass movements, economic change and an ongoing struggle for freedom and opportunity—continues to reshape the country.
Episode 4 “Coming to America”
Tuesday, February 18, at 9pm on ThinkTV16
Learn the story of African and Caribbean immigrants in the United States, examining their profound impact on American culture and what it means to be Black in America.
Watch a preview of Great Migrations: https://video.thinktv.org/video/great-migrations-extended-trailer/.
