The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross

Production

Gates worked with more than 30 historians to identify and select 70 stories of the African-American experience as the narrative spine of the series. Among the figures highlighted was the black Spanish conquistador Juan Garrido, who accompanied Ponce de León into what is now Florida in 1513; the airing coincided with the 500th anniversary of persons of African descent in the continental United States. Other profiled figures include Harriet Tubman, Richard Allen, Frederick Douglass, Robert Smalls, Ida B. Wells, W. E. B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, Oscar Micheaux, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Ruby Bridges, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Kathleen Neal Cleaver, Maulana Karenga, and Colin Powell.

In an interview, Gates stated his goals: to show that black culture is inextricably intertwined with American culture, and to provide a tool for teachers to discuss race daily in the classroom. He also noted that the series was personal, as he had watched the 1968 documentary Black History: Lost, Stolen, or Strayed with his parents at age 17, and wanted to provide tools for incorporating African-American history into the grand narrative of America's founding and prosperity.

Production team

The series was produced by Kunhardt McGee Productions and Inkwell Films, in association with Ark Media. Henry Louis Gates Jr. wrote and presented the series and served as executive producer with Peter Kunhardt and Dyllan McGee. Rachel Dretzin was senior producer, Leslie Asako Gladsjo was senior story producer, and Rebecca Brillhart was supervising producer. Directors/producers included Sabin Streeter (episodes 1 and 2), Jamila Wignot (episodes 3 and 6), Phil Bertelsen (episodes 4 and 5), and Leslie Asako Gladsjo (episode 6). The series was Gates’s 13th documentary film.

Accolades

The documentary series earned a Peabody Award in the 73rd annual competition, as well as an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding News/Information. The Peabody organization noted that the project, five centuries in scope, uncovers stories that both challenge and enlighten. In December 2014, Henry Louis Gates Jr. was named one of 14 winners of the 2015 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award for the series.