Person

Ken Burns

Related Excerpts

African Americans gather near a Confederate monument.

The Confederacy’s Long Shadow

Why did a predominantly black district have streets named after Southern generals? In Hollywood, Florida, one man thought it was time for change.
Picture of DeFord Bailey holding a harmonica amplified by a gourd.

The Unsung Black Musician Who Changed Country Music

From the moment DeFord Bailey stepped onto a stage in Nashville, country music would never be the same. Decades after his death he finally got his due.

An Unfinished Revolution

A new three-part PBS documentary explores the failure of Reconstruction and the Redemption of the South.

Why Trump Could Pardon Jack Johnson When Obama Wouldn’t

On the white privilege of being able to ignore the racial context of Johnson's Jim Crow-era conviction.
The April 1966 cover of “Ramparts," featuring a caricature of Madame Nhu dressed as a Michigan State University cheerleader

The University That Launched a CIA Front Operation in Vietnam

A Vietnamese politician and an American academic led Michigan State University into a nation-building experiment and pulled America deeper into war.

What the Press and 'The Post' Missed

Leslie Gelb supervised the team that compiled the Pentagon Papers. He explains what Steven Spielberg's new film gets wrong.

Still Worrying about The Civil War

John Kelly's statement about the Civil War is not surprising, but they are a reminder that we should still be worrying about the Civil War.

Let’s Relitigate the Civil War

There can be no "compromise" with the false view of America's past from Trumpists and pop historians alike.
Soldiers exiting a helicopter in Vietnam, 1966.
partner

Why Americans Still Can’t Move Past Vietnam

Not only can we not shake the memories of Vietnam, but they still shape our foreign policy debates.

The Vietnam War Transcript Trump Needs to Read

The PBS documentary on America’s most futile conflict is missing one explosive document. Every president should absorb its chilling lessons.