Discover Inspiring Stories

In 1887, a gang of horse thieves killed as many as 34 Chinese gold miners along the Oregon and Idaho border in Hells Canyon. It’s thought to be the worst massacre of Chinese people by white settlers in the United States. Chinese immigrants helped build the West Coast of the United States, but they faced unprecedented legalized discrimination and violence. For over a century, locals covered up the murders, and no one was held accountable. This program delves into the mystery o

From his birth in the Bitterroot Mountains among the Salish Tribe, to his exploits as a warrior with the Lemhi Shoshone and Bannocks, Washakie was recognized early as an extraordinary person. But he made his historical claim to greatness in the second half of the 19th century, as chief of the Eastern Shoshone.

This story takes a deep archival dive into the rise of white nationalism in Portland, Oregon, which led to the murder of Ethiopian immigrant Mulugeta Seraw in 1988 at the hands of racist skinheads. The story is grounded in the personal account of Mulugeta’s uncle Engedaw Berhanu, who led the charge to hold the racist organization White Aryan Resistance responsible for his nephew’s murder. The film draws on oral histories of antiracist activists and people from Portland’s musi

Exploring Civic Engagement Among Students The Young Vote follows a diverse group of students and activists during the 2020 election. It aims to understand young people's perceptions of voting and civic engagement. This documentary sheds light on how the younger generation views their role in democracy. The Importance of Voting Voting is a fundamental right. It allows individuals to express their opinions and influence government decisions. For many young people, this right i

Hidden secrets launch a son’s life-long quest to discover a father he never knew. Revealed: a WWII pilot’s journey from a passionate romance to a heroic doomed air battle; imprisonment in a famous POW camp; a death march across Germany, and unexpected tragedy. The story’s intimate personal details of war speak to the archetypal trauma faced by veteran families of all eras. Martin Sheen narrates.

The railroad station once was in institution an American life, in small towns and big cities alike. This human-interest tale is interwoven with history as the program explores how people interacted with the stations in their towns through multiple generations.

The Route to Emancipation by Black History Bike Ride follows three friends as they embark on a 350-mile cycling route from the Texas Capitol in Austin to the site where Juneteenth began in 1865. The journey takes viewers back through centuries of Black history in Texas.

In 1906, Maryland was third in the nation to establish a state system of forests and parks. Fred W. Besley, appointed by Governor Edwin Warfield, became Maryland's first State Forester. During his 36 years, Besley created a model for scientific forest management and the Big Tree formula. Today, Marylanders are learning his lessons of forest conservation and listening to the music of the trees.

American industrial workers in steel, grain, textiles, and shipping tell their stories of labor and life along the Erie Canal. These are the men and women who built American economic prosperity on the Canal for 150 years, and bore the brunt of its decline in the final decades of the 20th century.

Burying the Hatchet: The Tom Quick Story is the fascinating account of how Lenni Lenape tribes had been dislocated from their Milford, Pennsylvania, homeland in the late 18th century and how this largely white community and disenfranchised tribal leaders worked together to reconcile the past and forge a shared path forward based on trust, friendship, and an inspiring and healing vision of the future.

33 Black Frog: An American Story is a powerful documentary about Chief Petty Officer Eddie L. Ferguson, one of the first African American Navy Frogmen. Battling racism and adversity, Ferguson’s journey is one of courage, perseverance, and a legacy that paved the way for generations.

Filmed across eleven states, Courtmaker explores the life of the greatest judge in American history, John Marshall, who as the fourth Chief Justice, built the Supreme Court into the third pillar of American government. Through in-depth interviews with scholars, judges and Supreme Court justices, the film sheds light on our democracy's foundational legal philosophies.

Harriet Tubman | From the Railroad to a Spy is a documentary that tells her complete story. Journey through the events and details of her incredible life story that are seldom told, from the underground railroad to her work as a Union Army scout and spy in military campaigns.

At a critical juncture in our nation’s history, Public Defender , an award-winning documentary film, examines the fault lines of American democracy through the lens of Heather Shaner, a seasoned and fiercely compassionate public defender in Washington, DC.

Told exclusively through the words of the project’s visionaries, leaders, artisans and champions who made “the impossible plausible”, Remember Us is the remarkable story of America's new national World War I Memorial--an exceptional vision brought to life by a diverse coalition of Americans who overcame all odds to deliver a stunning achievement a full century after the War That Changed the World.

I'm Goin' Home is a story that has never been told about an enslaved person’s journey to freedom on the Underground Railroad. It is also the story of the brave men and women who helped him make the dangerous 400-mile trip from Senator Henry Clay’s Ashland Estate in Lexington, Kentucky to Canada. This account is also the vehicle by which the evils, economics and politics of slavery is revealed.

Triumphs and tragedies of Thomas Paine’s life unfold in To Begin the World Over Again , a one-man play filmed live in Hollywood. Paine, provocative writer and flawed politician, ignited revolutions yet died ignored. His radical ideas on democracy, equality, and morality still challenge us: “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”

Christa McAuliffe, America’s first teacher in space, is the subject of a moving documentary on the creation of her statue, unveiled in September 2024 at the New Hampshire State House and created by Idaho sculptor Benjamin Victor. Through interviews with former students, educators, and state leaders, the film celebrates her life and belief that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things.

The third part of “The Price of Silence” series explores the Black American flight to New Jersey during the Great Migration. Blacks hoped to find a better life in the region, devoid of the racism and discrimination they experienced in the South.