Making Black America: Through the Grapevine - Season 1

As Jim Crow laws went into effect, African Americans built a "life behind the veil" to meet their educational, economic, political, and cultural needs. This episode explores the genesis of these organizations and networks that paved the way for Black life to flourish. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. highlights the progress Black people made during the early 20th Century.

In this episode, the Great Depression devastates America's economy and brings Black America to its knees. To survive, the Black community uses social networks to navigate the oppressive realities of Jim Crow. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores how social networks formed the cultural, economic and political foundation of the Civil Rights Movement which would transform America's race relations.