The discussion leader or programming coordinators will have to carefully select clips based on the discussion themes, time limits of the presentation, and audience. The time code guides provide information to identify and locate specific content and to allocate sufficient time when presenting the four films.
Below are annotated guides of each film with time codes.
The Abolitionists
The guide presents each segment individually. Users will note that the right-hand panel contains a brief explanation of the content for a particular time frame. An attempt has been made to identify the specific individual or individuals who are featured in a time slot. For those programming coordinators who choose to focus on an individual, the panel explanations and the boldface print allow easy reference.
Part 1
| 1:00 - 10:00 | Angelina Grimké and Frederick Douglass introduced; explanation of the economics of slavery |
| 10:10 - 16:25 | William Lloyd Garrison forms his radical opinions; faces opposition; creates The Liberator |
| 16:30 - 18:35 | Garrison and abolitionists are associated with Nat Turner |
| 18:40 - 20:45 | Harriet Beecher Stowe joins the abolition movement |
| 20:48 - 23:00 | The American Anti-Slavery Society is formed (1833) |
| 23:01 - 26:25 | Frederick Douglass, as a young man, reacts to Covey’s abuse |
| 26:30 - 30:00 | Anti-slavery publications trigger violent opposition by pro-slavery forces in North and South |
| 30:05 - 33:00 | A. Grimké communicates with Garrison; writes Appeal to Women of the South; is ostracized |
| 33:15 - 36:10 | Garrison nearly lynched in Boston (1835); becomes radicalized |
| 36:15 - 38:55 | John Brown introduced |
| 39:00 - 45:10 | A. Grimké meets Theodore Weld and is trained to speak publicly; argues with Weld over linking women’s rights and abolition; they reconcile and marry |
| 45:10 - 46:45 | Abolitionists attacked in Philadelphia |
| 47:10 - 49:20 | Grimké and Weld publish American Slavery: As It Is |
| 49:30 - 52:15 | Garrison by 1840 becomes more strident; loses supporters |
Part 2
| 01:35 - 12:30 | Frederick Douglass escapes to NYC (1838); marries; moves to Massachusetts; begins association with William Lloyd Garrison; challenges economic and political foundation of slavery |
| 12:35 - 15:2 | Douglass focuses on issue of runaways such as George Latimer in Boston; Massachusetts passes Personal Liberty Act infuriating southerners |
| 15:40 - 20:25 | Douglass publishes his life story, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Written by Himself (1845); his former owner seeks to re-enslave him; Douglass flees to England; sympathizers purchase his freedom; he returns to U.S. (1847) |
| 20:30 - 24:20 | Douglass’s popularity and decision to publish his own abolitionist paper, The North Star, lead to a split with Garrison (1847); Douglass moves to Rochester, NY, the northernmost Underground RR “station,” where he helps runaways escape to Canada |
| 25:10 - 29:35 | In Rochester Douglass meets John Brown who proposes violent rebellion against Virginia slaveowners |
| 29:40 - 31:40 | The Mexican War proves containment of slavery to be unrealistic |
| 31:45 - 36:20 | Harriet Beecher Stowe loses her son to cholera; dedicates herself to relieving the pain of slave mothers and begins Uncle Tom’s Cabin |
| 36:25 - 43:05 | California seeks admission; The Great Compromise is enacted along with the Fugitive Slave Law (1850); this radicalizes the abolitionists and Douglass offers his July 4th speech; Garrison attacks him |
| 43:10 - 51:45 | Stowe defies the Fugitive Slave Law; completes Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), which is adapted as a play and encourages opposition; the Anthony Burns case in Boston (1854) illustrates federal support of slavery |
Part 3
| 01:25 - 3:50 | William Lloyd Garrison attacks the Constitution over the Anthony Burns case and belittles compromise (1854) |
| 3:55 - 7:22 | Kansas becomes the flashpoint (1855) over popular sovereignty; John Brown, with financial support from Frederick Douglass, heads to Kansas |
| 7:25 - 11:10 | Slavery supporters attack Lawrence, KS (1856); Charles Sumner issues his protest in Congress and is attacked by Preston Brooks; Brown leads the murder of pro-slavery settlers in Pottawattomie; Brown meets Garrison |
| 11:15 - 14:00 | The Supreme Court rules in the Dred Scott case (1857); abolitionists are convinced of the existence of a federal slave holder conspiracy; Douglass despairs for a resolution to the end of slavery |
| 14:01 - 18:20 | Douglass meets with Brown (1859); Brown tries unsuccessfully to recruit Douglass to help seize the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry |
| 18:21 - 21:30 | Brown is captured at Harpers Ferry (1859); Douglass is implicated and is forced to flee to Canada |
| 21:35 - 26:40 | Brown is placed on trial; before he is hanged, he passionately defends his actions; Garrison is torn between pacifism and supporting slave insurrections |
| 26:42 - 28:30 | Douglass returns to U.S. in 1860; Garrison and Douglass quietly support Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate |
| 28:35 - 32:50 | Lincoln is elected; Douglass is horrified by Lincoln’s moderate stance toward the slave states; the Civil War begins; the abolitionists fully support the Union struggle |
| 32:55 - 37:10 | Douglass and Garrison reconcile; Abolitionists unite in urging Lincoln to use the war to end slavery; Lincoln initially blames Blacks for the war and urges Black resettlement to Africa; Garrison and Douglass react |
| 37:12 - 38:55 | Lincoln promises to issue an Emancipation Proclamation (1862); he then privately considers possible continuation of slavery |
| 39:04 - 51:40 | The Emancipation Proclamation is issued (1863); the war merges with the abolitionist cause; blacks are allowed to enlist; Garrison, Douglass, and Stowe openly support Lincoln; the Constitution is amended banning slavery; Garrison prints his last issue of The Liberator; the Reconstruction era challenges equal rights; Douglass eulogizes Garrison |
Slavery by Another Name
The guide suggests a division of the presentation into two segments. This approach allows a natural “break” for a presentation to an audience. The segments selected provide viewers with an opportunity to examine the historical background leading up to the convict and peonage labor systems as well as the abuses inherent in the chain-gang system. Specific civil rights issues and the effort to provide justice for abused and enslaved laborers are examined.
Part 1
| 1:08 - 3:40 | Introduction / background |
| 4:52 - 6:02 | Post-1865 dreams and conditions |
| 7:45 - 13:34 | Conditions in post–Civil War South; anti-black actions and Reconstruction |
| 14:40 - 19:05 | Development of convict leasing; relation to 13th Amendment (1874) |
| 19:42 - 30:06 | The Industrial South and convict leasing |
| 30:45 - 33:22 | Criminality and race (1890) |
| 35:30 - 37:37 | Lynching and intimidation |
| 28:30 | Total time |
Part 2
| 38:18 - 56:32 | Peonage system in early 20th century |
| 1:00:18 - 1:10:35 | Industrial change; segregation; NAACP; chain gangs; sharecropping; peonage labor |
| 1:12:08 - 1:17:42 | FDR; Unions; anti-lynching campaign; discrimination; forced labor challenged during WWII |
| 34:05 | Total time |
The Loving Story
The guide provides suggestions for programming coordinators to examine the historical background, specific civil rights issues in question, and the trajectory of the appeal by the Lovings for justice through the legal system.
- Clip 1. Introduction/background on the Lovings and context about the Virginia law against “miscegenation,” and the couple’s arrest (approximately 3 minutes)
- Clip 2. Mildred Loving appeals for help to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who replies suggesting she get in touch with the American Civil Liberties Union (approximately 10 mins)
- Clip 3. The ACLU lawyers prepare to argue the Lovings’ case before the Supreme Court (3 mins)
Freedom Riders
The guide suggests a division of the presentation into three segments. Part 1 provides background of public discrimination and follows the launch of the Freedom Rides through the violence in Anniston and Birmingham. Part 2 begins with graphic depictions of the lunch counter protests and examines the initial reluctance of the Kennedy administration and federal government to intervene to protect the Freedom Riders. Part 3 focuses on federal / state conflicts, SNCC criticism of Dr. King, and attempts to complete the Freedom Ride as well as an assessment of the project.
Part 1
| 0:50 - 8:20 | Introduction / background; examples of public discrimination throughout southern states |
| 9:05 - 14:45 | Civil rights not on the agenda of JFK administration; CORE seeks national recognition; non-violent training |
| 16:00 - 19:30 | State v. federal law; meeting with MLK; conflict with CORE |
| 20:12 - 30:00 | Reaction by white southern culture; attack on bus in Alabama |
| 30:08 - 37:55 | “Bull” Conner and KKK meet Freedom Riders in Birmingham, AL; failure of police and FBI; international reaction |
| 40:00 - 45:30 | Riders end attempt and with federal support fly to New Orleans |
| 39:10 | Total time |
Part 2
| 45:30 - 52:40 | Lunch counter veterans v. CORE; decision to continue; selecting a leader; refusal to abandon plans |
| 55:20 - 1:04:36 | Threat of federal intervention |
| 1:04:45 - 1:12:16 | Attack against press and riders in Montgomery, AL; federal marshals |
| 23:45 | Total time |
Part 3
| 1:12:15 - 1:23:11 | Attacked in church in Montgomery, AL; MLK calls RFK for federal help |
| 1:23:43 - 1:33:20 | SNCC and MLK at odds; National Guard and AL state police used to move to MS |
| 1:33:25 - 1:39:45 | Feds provide little support; imprisoned; international embarrassment |
| 1:41:00 - 1:49:15 | Rides expand with new students and clergy and fill jails in MS; RFK appeals to ICC; ICC orders end of segregated facilities |
| 35:15 | Total time |
