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Monday, August 20, 8 p.m.
The rich history of America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs) began before the end of slavery, flourished in the 20th century and profoundly influenced the course of the nation for more than 150 years, yet remain largely unknown. America's foremost film chronicler of the African-American experience, Stanley Nelson (Black Panthers, Freedom Riders) brings the powerful story of the rise, influence and evolution of HBCUs to life in his latest film, along with co-director and co-producer Marco Williams. "Tell Them We Are Rising" airs at 8 p.m. Monday, August 20 on PBS.
With over a hundred HBCUs, there are five that call Virginia its home: Hampton University, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University and Virginia University of Lynchburg. Hampton University, nestled in the Hampton Roads community, even played a role in providing footage for this documentary.
HBCUs sprung following the Civil War, when it was illegal to teach African Americans to read, as a result, to educate and empower African Americans. The ideology, known as "The New Negro" movement, first took root following WWI, when African American soldiers returned expecting a more equitable piece of the American Dream.
During the 1930s and 1940s — what many consider the "Golden Age" of HBCUs — these institutions have graduated doctors, lawyers and professionals who would create the first Black middle class. They have remained a haven for Black intellectuals, artists and revolutionaries — and a path of promise toward the American Dream — and have educated the architects of freedom movements and cultivated leaders in every field while remaining unapologetically Black for more than 150 years.
“My parents were the product of HBCUs. For generations, there was no other place our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents could go to school. I set out to tell a story of Americans who refused to be denied a higher education and — in their resistance — created a set of institutions that would influence and shape the landscape of the country for centuries to come. If education is a cornerstone of society, then HBCUs are the groundwork for advancing justice in America,” says Nelson.
“I first began working with Stanley Nelson in 2003 when we presented his family memoir A Place of Our Own,” said Lois Vossen, Independent Lens executive producer. “One of our pre-eminent storytellers, when he proposed his ‘America Revisited’ trilogy — which includes Black Panthers, Tell Them We Are Rising and a third film about the slave trade currently in production — we didn’t fully realize how relevant these films would be. The history we make each day reminds us that an educated Black population cannot be an enslaved population, as education advances justice in America.”
