We Shall Overcome

Chronicles the significant events and key figures from the civil right movement, including the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the murder of Emmet Till, and the Watts riots, with archival audio recordings on the accompanying CDs.

Herb Boyd is an award-winning author and journalist who has published eleven books and countless articles for national magazines and newspapers. Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America--An Anthology, co-edited with Robert Allen, won the American Book Award for nonfiction. Boyd is also the author of Race and Resistance: African Americans in the 21st Century, The Harlem Reader and the forthcoming Sugar in Harlem, a biography of Sugar Ray Robinson. In 1999, Boyd won three first place awards from the New York Association of Black Journalists for his articles published in the Amsterdam News. Boyd is also the National Editor of The Black World Today, one of the leading publications on the Internet, and he teaches African and African American History at the College of New Rochelle in Manhattan.

Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee have long been at the forefront of civil rights, in addition to their long list of credits on the stage and screen. Throughout their careers, they supported Martin Luther King Jr., participated in the March on Washington, eulogized Malcolm X, and have been active in social causes including sickle-cell disease research and black voting rights.

Davis made his Broadway debut in 1946 and was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 1994. He has appeared in such films as Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Grumpy Old Men, and Get on the Bus, and has directed five feature films. He received Emmy Award nominations for his work in Teacher, Teacher, King, and Miss Evers’ Boys.

Dee grew up in Harlem and began her career as an actor, writer, and producer as a member of the American Negro Theatre. On Broadway, she has appeared in such plays as Jeb, A Raisin in the Sun, and Checkmates. Her film credits include No Way Out, The Jackie Robinson Story, and St. Louis Blues.