B lack H istory M February 9. 2005 ta i c o u e ra a e . onth . f c Page A 7 B lack H istory Month PBS Airs Documentary on Slavery Feature brings light to unsung minority heroes p.m . “The diaries, the novels, the letters that we are finding now have been there for a couple hundred years. How come we d id n ’t find them b e fo re ? ” Horton questions. "Part of the reason has to do with what we thought worthy of looking for.” Narrated by actor Freeman, the unique, four-hour series is told through a collage of filmed re-enactments, providing a de tailed visual history o f Am eri can slavery. ends in late 1876, Grant con tends that the story of slavery is extrem ely relevant today. “ P resident Bush said re cently that Am ericans do not like to look in the rearview mirror, that we are a forward- looking - not backw ard-look ing - people,” Grant said of the president's inaugural address. “ H ow ever, as Peter W ood, one o f the historians from Duke U n iversity, said in the show, ‘Slavery is ground zero fo r race r e l a ti o n s in (AP) - The names Colonel Tye, Robert Smalls and Harriet Jacobs aren’t as fam iliar as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Betsy Ross, but they, too, are the forefathers and foremothers of America. They also were slaves. So were Denmark Vesey, Mum Bett, Emmanuel and Frances Driggus, and millions of other black pioneers instrumental in building a barely charted territory into one of the strongest and richest countries in the world. Yet their stories have been largely ig nored in U.S. history. “The reason we don’t know what we P hoto provided by PBS ought to know about Colonel Tye is one o f the many African American forefathers mentioned in them isn’t because PBS' “Slavery and the Making o f America. ” these people haven’t “This is not African Am eri A m erica.’ If you d o n ’t un been telling their stories,” said George W ashington Univer can history, it’s Am erican his derstand that, it’s hard to get tory. It’s the history of all of a grip on w h a t’s going on sity historian James Horton. H e’s am ong 25 scholars us,” notes executive producer today. Or as Jim H orton said, who provide an unparalleled W illiam R. Grant, director of 'S lav ery w asn’t the sideshow look at slavery and the re science, natural history and fea in A m erica, it was the main m arkable stories of individual ture programs for W NET in event in A m erican h isto ry .’” “ I hope people can look at slaves in “ Slavery and the New York, which produced this project in a holistic con M aking o f A m erica,” airing the series. And while the documentary text and keep going back to on PBS on Feb. 9 and 16 at 9 it,” said series producer Dante J. James. “ A frican A m ericans have the right and, arm ed with the n ecessary kn o w led g e, can take pride in the way that enslaved people m aintained, as best they could, their fam i lies, their spirituality, d ev el oped a new culture, brought (A P P hoto /P B S, J eremy L ock ) new technology to this co u n In this promotional photo released by PBS, three o f the first 11 try and w ere an essential e le enslaved Africans arrive in Dutch New Amsterdam in 1626 for ment in this nation becom ing purchase by the Dutch West India Company, as shown in a the e c o n o m ic and c u ltu re reenactment from PBS' “Slavery and the Making o f America, ” pow er that it is today.” part o f the network's observation of Black History Month. Advertise with diversity in ^^orttanb CObserner Call 503-288-0033 ads@portlandobserver.com * The first were brought in 1619. The last freed in 1865. In the intervening 250 years, slaves labored to make America what it is today. Black History M onth 1 am more than my arm. My back. My sweat. I am a fighter. Mother. Survivor. Crusader. 1 am one. I am many, 1 am America. Wednesday February 9 and 16 at 9pm S U IE II — ♦AND THE >------- MAKING of AMERICA NARRATED BY MORGAN FREEMAN Be more PBS Channel 10 opb.org Your D re a m s . Your E d u c a tio n . Your F u tu re . ACHIEVE THEM HERE. Your H o n o r. Your C o u ra g e . Your C o m m itm e n t. PROVE THEM HERE. Your F re e d o m . Your F a m ily . Your V a lu e s . DEFEND THEM HERE. Each year, the Navy provides new career, education and training opportunities for more than 40,000 working professionals, high school and college students. If you’re ready to A c c e le r a t e Your Life, talk with a Navy