Jim Crow was not a person, yet affected the lives of millions of people. Named after a popular 19th-century minstrel song that stereotyped African Americans, "Jim Crow" came to personify the system of government-sanctioned racial oppression and segregation in the United States.

A landmark four-part series, THE RISE AND FALL OF JIM CROW explores segregation from the end of the civil war to the dawn of the modern civil rights movement. Lynchings and beatings by night. Demeaning treatment by day. And a life of crushing subordination for Southern blacks that was maintained by white supremacist laws and customs known as "Jim Crow." It was a brutal and oppressive era in American history, but during this time, large numbers of African Americans and a corps of influential black leaders bravely fought against the status quo, amazingly acquiring for African Americans the opportunities of education, business, land ownership, and a true spirit of community.


EPISODE 1: Promises Betrayed (1865-1896)
airdate: Tuesday, October 1, 10 pm ET
The premiere episode begins with the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction, periods that held so much promise for free black men and women. But as the North gradually withdrew its support for black aspirations for land, civil and political rights, and legal due process, Southern whites succeeded in passing laws that segregated and disfranchised African Americans, laws that were reinforced with violence and terror tactics. By 1876, Reconstruction was over. "Promises Betrayed" recounts black response by documenting the work of such leaders as activist/separatist Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells, as well as the emergence of Booker T. Washington as a national figure.




EPISODE 2: Fighting Back (1896-1917)
airdate: Tuesday, October 8, 10 pm ET
The second episode explores the dramatic rise of a successful black middle class and the determination of white supremacists to destroy this fledgling black political power. Through the efforts of men and women like educator Charlotte Hawkins Brown, African Americans continued to move forward. Black artists created new genres of American music and an intellectual elite, personified by the pioneering W.E.B. Du Bois, emerged. Du Bois, a charter member of the newly founded National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was the editor of its magazine, THE CRISIS. This episode ends with the violence at home giving way to warfare abroad as thousands of black Americans depart for World War I.


EPISODE 3: Don't Shout Too Soon (1918-1940)
airdate: Tuesday, October 15, 10 pm ET
Episode 3 chronicles the years between World Wars I and II, a time of increased mob violence, lynchings, and massacres of blacks. White supremacy was kept in place by terrorism,but three men, each part of the fledgling NAACP, led campaigns to confront these threats. W.E.B. Du Bois called for veterans of World War I to "return fighting." Walter White went among the lynchers to discover the truth behind the rapes and insurrections allegedly committed by blacks, and Charles Hamilton Houston designed and successfully applied a legal strategy that challenged Jim Crow and resulted in the famous "Brown vs. Board of Education" decision, which desegregated public schools in 1954.



EPISODE 4: Terror and Triumph (1940-1954)
airdate: Tuesday, October 22, 10 pm ET
The final episode, "Terror and Triumph," examines the surge of black activism that took place after World War II. Prolonged legal battles led to Supreme Court decisions that opened doors and restored voting rights for blacks. The battle for freedom, dignity, and opportunity throughout America continued through the'50s and'60s - and in many respects, continues today.


TV CREDITS
Series Producers
BILL JERSEY
SAM POLLARD
RICHARD WORMSER

Narrated by
RICHARD ROUNDTREE

Directed by
BILL JERSEY
RICHARD WORMSER

Written by
BILL JERSEY
RICHARD WORMSER

Co-Producer
PIERRE VALETTE

Music by
CHRISTOPHER RIFE

Editors
AARON BUTLER
GARRETT LEVIN
TOM HANAKE
MAX SALOMON
PIERRE VALETTE
ALLISON EVE ZELL

Online Editors
RICK BROWN
MICHAEL DUFFIELD
ANGELA REGINATO

Assistant Editors
DAVID IWAMOTO
WALKER KOPPELMAN BROWN
JASON POLLARD
CHRIS TOW

Additional Editing
AMY YOUNG

Director of Photography
BRIAN DOWLEY

Cinematography
RICHARD CHISHOLM
MIKE COALE
BRIAN DOWLEY
BILL JERSEY
JERRY PANZER
BOBBY SHEPARD
MAX SALOMON
CHAD SMITH
PIERRE VALETTE

Additional Camera
BOB BOCCACCIO
REGE BECKER
ROBERT ELFSTROM
BOBBY SHEPARD
MAX SALOMON

Sound Recording
MICHAEL BOYLE
JOHN H. CAMERON
DOUG DUNDERDALE
JONATHAN GAYNOR
DAVID HOCS
MIKE SEXTON
SEKOU SHEPARD
HANS VAN DEN BOLD

Sound Editors
JONATHAN BLOOM
JAY BOEKELHEIDE

Sound Design
WILLIAM MARKLE

Location Sound Recording
WELLINGTON JON BOWLER
JOHN CAMERON
DOUGLAS DUNDERDALE
MICHAEL FIGLIO
SEKOU SHEPARD
DENNIS TOWNES

Sound Mix
MARK BERGER
SAUL ZAENTZ FILM CENTER

Gaffers
GEOFF HERBERT
DAVID MARGOLIS
JOHN REYNOLDS
GEORGE WINCHELL

Grips
BILL ALLANSON
JASON CONTINO
FLEATHER D. THOMAS
DENNIS ZOPPE

Production Design
MARK RUBIN

Production Art
JARED MORGAN

Jib Arm
WALLY ARGILE
PAT GLEASON

Animal Handler
AMMONS ARK

Special Effects
DAVID HILL
MIKE HUDSON
WILL PURCELL

Associate Producers
SHIRLEY KESSLER
AMY KOHN
MARK PAGE

Co-Line Producer
AMY KOHN

Production Manager
KEITH W. STANDBERG

Construction Coordinator
BILLY DANIEL

Location Managers
ROBERT HOWARD
HERMAN ROBERTSON
GEOFF RYAN
KEITH STRANDBERG

Production Associates
LAURA APPELTON
SVENJA SOLDOVIERI

Production Assistants
DANA BINGHAM
LUCY BLACKBURN
KATIE BUCK
HEATHER CASTLE
SHARON COFER
HILLARY CONROY
LEAH ELLIS
JOCELYN EVANS
MARCELLO GARAFOLO
LAYLA HALLE
HEATHER HUDDLESTEIN
BRIAN KNOX
AMY MURRELL
ERIC OBARME
ALICE PESCHL
BLUE JAY SKARDIS
KREG THORNLEY
STACEY WAXTON
LAURA WEXLER

Assistants to the Producers
HEATHER CASTLE
STEPHEN CEDARS
LAYLA HALLE
VEDA IGBINEDION
RITA LEWIS
JARED MORGAN

Script Consultant
RICHARD WILLIS

Research and Clearances
JUDITH ALEY
SASHA BELL
FLORENCE BORDERS
ROBIN ESPINOLA
SHOLA LYNCH
ROBIN MCARTHUR
CLAUDIA MOGUL
BONNIE ROWAN
EILEEN WILKINSON

Archival Research Coordinators
JOHN MIKULENKA
MARY NICOLE NAZZARO

Archival Research
SASHA BELL
FRANCESCA GESSNER
PAUL LEE
MARY NICOLE NAZZARO
BONNIE ROWAN
HELEN WEISS

Additional Archival Research
SUSAN HORMUTH
TAMARA MARTIAL
JAY MUHLIN
GRAHAM PERRY
HELEN WEISS

Archival Assistants
VEDA IGBINEDIAN
RITA LEWIS

Transcribers
HEATHER LARSEN
ACHEL SCHNEIDER

Opening Title Design
BOBBY CHANG

Opening Title Producer
MARA POSNER

Title Music
MICHAEL BACON

Promo and Tease Editor
MARK SUTTON

Promo and Tease Narration
HUGH MORGAN

Animation Motion Control Photography
GARY BECKER
BERLE CHERNEY

Special Effects
DAVE HILL
MICHAEL HUDSON
WILL PURCELL

Digital Retouching
JODY WALDRON

Music by
MICHAEL BACON

Additional Music by
COREY HARRIS
JAMAL MILLNER

Post Production Supervisor, WNET
TARA THOMAS

Project Manager, WNET
JULIE SCHAPIRO THORMAN

Financial Officer
TURID LARSEN

Accounting
GENE BANDLER

Board of Advisors
EDWARD L. AYERS
WILLIAM H. CHAFE
ROBIN DAVIS GIBRAN KELLEY
RAYMOND GAVINS
GLENDA ELIZABETH GILMORE
LEON F. LITWACK
NEIL RAYMOND MCMILLAN
THEODORE ROSENGARTEN
PATRICIA SULLIVAN
NAN ELIZABETH WOODRUFF

Executive Administrator
SHIRLEY KESSLER

Executive Producers
BILL JERSEY
WILLIAM R. GRANT

Additional Funding
ALABAMA HUMANITIES FOUNDATION
ARKANSAS HUMANITIES COUNCIL
HUMANITIES COUNCIL OF WASHINGTON D.C.
HUMANITIES COUNCIL OF SOUTH CAROLINA
NEW YORK HUMANITIES COUNCIL
NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL
SOUTHERN HUMANITIES MEDIA FUND
TENNESSEE HUMANITIES COUNCIL
VIRGINIA FOUNDATION FOR THE HUMANITIES AND PUBLIC POLICY
WINTHROP ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION OF ARKANSAS

A co-production of Quest Productions, Videoline Productions, and Thirteen/WNET New York.

© 2002 Quest Productions, VideoLine Productions and Educational Broadcasting Corporation.

WEB CREDITS

ORDERING INFORMATION
The order the home video, please call 1-800-336-1917 or write to:
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
P.O. Box 2284
South Burlington, VT 05407

To order the tapes for educational use, please contact California Newsreel: 877-811-7495.

TAPING RIGHTS
Off-air taping rights for THE RISE AND FALL OF JIM CROW are avilable to educators for one year following each broadcast release.