Anti-Racism Resources: TED Talks, Films and Podcasts

Director Ava DuVernay uses the words of scholars and changemakers to explore how racial inequality fuels the country’s mass incarceration levels. It was nominated for an Oscar and won best documentary from the African-American Film Critics Association Awards. Available on both Netflix and Youtube.

In his new four-hour series, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. embarks on a deeply personal journey through the last fifty years of African American history. Joined by leading scholars, celebrities, and a dynamic cast of people who shaped these years, Gates travels from the victories of the civil rights movement up to today, asking profound questions about the state

This documentary was produced by Musindo Mwinyipembe and David Koff for the Public Broadcasting (PBS) affiliate in Boston, Massachusetts. PBS refused to air the film as the creators intended, and instead broadcast a heavily censored version in August 1978. PBS then filed a lawsuit against the director, Koff, to prevent him from distributing the film. The deputy director of the British Information Service in the U.S. called Blacks' Britannica "dangerous," and the film was banned in the U.K. It was eventually broadcast in its unedited form in 1989, by a small, independent cable program called "Alternative News" in Austin, Texas.

Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices is a live-action collection of twelve five minute episodes featuring prominent Black celebrities and artists reading children's books from Black authors that highlight the Black experience.

One of FRONTLINE's most requested programs -- third-grade teacher Jane Elliott's lesson in discrimination.

Explores the fallout of mit media lab researcher Joy Buolamwini’s startling discovery that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately, and her journey to push for the first-ever legislation in the U.S. to govern against bias in the algorithms that impact us all.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Asian Americans have experienced a sharp increase in racist verbal abuse and physical attacks. National reporter Michelle Ye Hee Lee speaks with author and historian Erika Lee, together with author and activist Helen Zia, about how the past can help inform our understanding of where we are today.

Twenty-five years after the verdict in the Rodney King trial sparked several days of protests, violence and looting in Los Angeles, filmmakers examine that tumultuous period through rarely seen archival footage.

In this 1992 Oprah Show episode, award-winning anti-racism activist and educator Jane Elliott taught the audience a tough lesson about racism by demonstrating just how easy it is to learn prejudice.

Explore films and new specials focused on race from PBS.org

A PBS Digital Studios series that celebrates Black culture, context, and history

A chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.

On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the 1957 Little Rock school desegregation crisis, educational inequality remains among the most urgent civil rights issues of our time. With its school district hanging in the balance following a state takeover in January 2015, Little Rock today presents a microcosm of the inequities and challenges manifesting in classrooms all across America. Through case studies in Little Rock, New York City, and Los Angeles, Teach Us All seeks to bring the critical lessons of history to bear on the current state of U.S. education and investigate: 60 years later, how far have we come-or not come-and how do we catalyze action from here?

An unflinching look at how the police killing of 18-year-old Mike Brown inspired a community to fight back and sparked a global movement.

An audio series on how slavery has transformed America, connecting past and present through the oldest form of storytelling

PBS NewsHour original podcast series that looks at the impact that overworked and underfunded public defenders have on the American criminal justice system. It tells the story of Ricky Kidd, who was sentenced to life without parole for a double homicide he says he didn’t commit and argues his court-appointed lawyer is the reason for that conviction.

An NPR podcast produced by a multi-racial, multi-generational team of journalists fascinated by the overlapping themes of race, ethnicity and culture, how they play out in our lives and communities, and how all of this is shifting.

From The Atlantic. An audio documentary about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Floodlines is told from the perspective of four New Orleanians still living with the consequences of governmental neglect.

Ella Washington, an organizational psychologist at Georgetown University, argues that private sector American organizations have a big role to play in sustaining the fight for racial justice that has gained such momentum in recent weeks. She says that widespread protests should mark a shift in how companies and their leaders push for government policy change, think about diversity and inclusion in their own workplaces, and strive to combat bias and inequality in U.S. society. It not enough for CEOs to release statements and continue on with business as usual. To promote real change, they need to work on these issues each and every day. Washington is the coauthor of the HBR article "U.S. Businesses Must Take Meaningful Action Against Racism."

Intersectionality Matters! is a podcast hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American civil rights advocate and a leading scholar of critical race theory.

From The Economist. The killing of George Floyd and ensuing protests are a wake-up call for corporate America. There are few African-Americans among its CEOs. What will bosses do to combat racism beyond releasing PR statements? Also, how diversity helps the bottom line and the history of economic suppression of African-Americans. Patrick Lane hosts.

Collection of stories aired on Marketplace

The past is never past. Every headline has a history. Every week at Throughline, Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei "go back in time to understand the present." To understand the history of systemic racism in America, listen to "American Police," "Mass Incarceration" and "Milliken v. Bradley."