A Colored Life
Herb Jeffries may be the most famous man you’re never heard of.

In 1938, “The Bronze Buckaroo” was America’s first black singing cowboy on film, finally giving black children a hero to look up to. But strangely enough, Herb Jeffries who played the part, is not African-American at all. Yet he lived as a black man on and off screen. Why would anyone choose this life during one of the worst times in civil rights history?

Jeffries was born to an Irish mother and a Sicilian father and, at age 19, he auditioned for an all-black jazz band.

Flying for Freedom

Few stories to come out of WWII are as dramatic and heart wrenching as the stories of a select group of Black men who stood up to the system in order to fight for the country they loved.

Flying for Freedom uncovers the personal stories and fading memories of some of the few remaining “Tuskegee Airmen,” African American pilots, mechanics, and service personnel who served valiantly in World War II, only to return home to a beloved country that refused to treat them as equals.

The film provides a sobering inside look at the changing face of racism during a time when the Black soldiers and heroes of WWII returned home to an America not ready to accept them as equals.

The Good Fight

When he rolled into the Jim Crow South on a Greyhound bus-a black man sitting in the whites-only front seat-James Farmer was scared. “Courage is not being unafraid, but doing what needs to be done in spite of fear,” said the organizer of the Freedom Rides and pioneer of the earliest sit-ins.

A relentless leader, a dynamic speaker, and a forceful organizer, Farmer was one of the first civil rights activists to use nonviolent direct action to fight for dignity and justice. Yet at what cost? His own family suffered from his frequent absences, prison stays, and threats made on his life. And, he was continually disappointed in his lack of recognition, especially after witnessing the momentous legacy of Martin Luther King, a man ten years his junior. The Good Fight chronicles Farmer’s life from his earliest days as a “Great Debater” at Wiley College to his legacy teaching a new generation of students about the movement that shaped a country.

In the Shadow of Hollywood

In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema captures the sounds and images of a nearly-forgotten era in film history when African American filmmakers and studios created “race movies” exclusively for black audiences.

The Real Great Debaters

Inspired by the critically acclaimed Hollywood film The Great Debaters, The Real Great Debaters of Wiley College unveils the true story of Wiley College’s 1935 debate team and their groundbreaking defeat of the all-white reigning national championship debate team at USC.

Shattering racial stereotypes and overcoming adversity against great odds, these courageous young debaters emerged triumphant, commanding not only the respect of their peers… but of the nation. Influenced by their coach Melvin B. Tolson, the Wiley College debaters would go on to devote their talents to the causes of civil justice and social progress and become leaders in the Civil Rights Movement.

The film comes full-circle, as the legacies of The Real Great Debaters inspire Wiley’s new debate team as it seeks to reclaim its glory on the national stage.

Resurrecting Moton Field
The Birthplace of the Tuskegee Airmen

Resurrecting Moton Field captures the explosive times, the legendary tales, and the unbelievable triumphs of the young black men who traveled to a rural strip of land and became the Tuskegee Airmen. Through emotional and enlightening interviews with the Airmen themselves, Tuskegee University President Benjamin Payton, Governor of Alabama Bob Riley, National Park Servicemen and women and many others, viewers will learn how this piece of land transformed the fabric of the United States. This documentary reveals the little-known history of the Tuskegee Airmen with fact-filled newsreels and shows how the primary flight training facility for black Americans was honored by Congress as a National Historic Site.

Rising from the Rails

Based on the best-selling book by Larry Tye, Rising from the Rails: The Story of the Pullman Porter chronicles the unheralded Pullman Porters, generations of African American men who served as caretakers to wealthy white passengers on luxury trains that traversed the nation in the golden age of rail travel.

Unbeknownst to most of their white passengers, porters played critical political and cultural roles: bringing elements of white culture to black communities, helping spread jazz and the blues from cities to rural communities, and bringing news, organizing skills, and seditious ideas about freedom from the urban North to the segregated South.

Pullman Porters became trailblazers in the struggle for African American dignity and self-sufficiency, became patriarchs of black labor unions, and helped give birth to the Civil Rights Movement. Ultimately, however, their greatest legacy is that which they left to future generations—strong ethics, self-respect, and a deep value for education. Rising from the Rails pays tribute to these men who rose—with dignity—from the rails.

The Unveiling

After decades of neglect, Moton Field, where the historic Tuskegee Airmen learned to fly and trained to serve their country, finally opened as the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. The Unveiling: A Celebration at Moton Field captures the long-awaited opening and the day-by-day events of one magical weekend in 2008 when the few remaining Tuskegee Airmen realized a dream over 60 years in the making.

The third film in a series about the Tuskegee Airmen, The Unveiling honors the joy of the crowds, emotional reunions, and an illustrious group of African American heroes.