Summer 2022 Releases

Abolitionist and social reformer Frederick Douglass believed that the U.S. could become the greatest nation in history – if it accepted the defining principles set out in his speech, Composite Nation.

This film is about the most important events of Watkins Harper’s early life, highlighting her early achievements as a writer.

By taking on the US government and winning, Wong Kim Ark ensured that the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution granted citizenship to every American by birth, regardless of their race or ethnicity.

Montaukett leader David Pharaoh fought for indigenous land rights – and established a lasting legacy as the founder of America’s first Montaukett school.

Classical violinist Joseph Henry Douglass helped empower the Black community through music and education at a time when Southern lawmakers were pushing back against the progress of Reconstruction.

The Spanish Flu was one of the deadliest pandemics the world has ever seen – so how was one sleepy Colorado town able to escape unscathed?

Today, Texas is famous around the world as being the most American state of them all – but it once belonged to Mexico. For almost a decade, it was an independent republic.

The Battle of the Alamo has become the stuff of legend – when 200 brave Texan fighters took a stand against a Mexican force of thousands. But there’s more to the story than meets the eye.

Despite losing an arm in the US Civil War, John Wesley Powell was one of the great explorers of the American West, and made history as the man who mapped the Grand Canyon.

The shootout at the OK Corral is one of the most famous episodes in US history – but the true story is very different from the movies.

Sally Hemings was an enslaved woman who had several children with Founding Father Thomas Jefferson. Her story of agency and eventual emancipation remains an inspiration.

Sylvia Drake and Charity Bryant overcame many challenges to become pioneers of LGBTQ+ visibility in the United States.

Native American interpreter Sacagawea was the only woman on Lewis and Clark’s expedition into the West. She played a vital role, but was subsequently forgotten.

As the host of unrivaled skill, First Lady Dolley Madison brought the US political elite together by throwing the best parties Washington, D.C., had ever seen.

At a time when Apache men and women followed specific gender roles, Lozen defied convention – to become one of the finest warriors in the tribe's history.

Sold into slavery by her parents, Polly Bemis faced discrimination as a Chinese immigant in America – but became something of a pioneer of the West.

At a time when women were expected to know their place, activist and businessperson Victoria Woodhull blazed a trail as a fierce advocate for women's suffrage and empowerment.

She was known as the Reindeer Queen – and one of the richest women in Alaska. So how did Changunak Antisarlook use her remarkable wealth to benefit the Inupiat community?

Latina author María Ruiz de Burton raised the plight of Mexicans in America with two satirical and revealing books at a time when female authors were few and far between.

The Pack Horse Library Initiative saw hundreds of female librarians cross the Appalachian Mountains to deliver books to those in need.

As the world grapples with new pandemics, what can we learn from the US’s mixed response to the Bubonic Plague, which arrived in San Francisco in 1900?

Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery opened the American West up to expansion and settlement – but it all rested on the expert planning and preparation.

Animals aren’t just cute – during times of war, they’ve proven to be immensely useful. Some have even been awarded with prestigious medals for helping to save lives.

Famous American author Edgar Allan Poe’s haunting death may have been a result of cooping, a violent form of voter fraud practiced in the 19th century.

Despite the racism they faced, the bravery and heroism of the Japanese American 442nd Regiment Combat Team made them one of the most decorated units in United States history.

It’s America’s national sport – but when football almost came to a crashing halt following the deaths of 19 players in 1905, US President Theodore Roosevelt made a decisive play.

He was a fierce patriot and Founding Father – so why did John Adams defend British soldiers accused of murder following the Boston Massacre of 1770?

She’s known as a savior of the enslaved – but few know that during the American Civil War, Harriet Tubman was an exceptionally capable Union Army spy.

San Francisco is famous for many things – but what you probably don’t know is that much of the city is made from ships that sank or were repurposed during the Gold Rush.

When you think of America's immigration story, you think of Ellis Island New York... right? Think again, because over 2,500 miles away is Angel Island, where immigrants coming into the West Coast were processed for entry to the US, but it was an experience that was anything but welcoming.

When you think of American tough guys, who springs to mind? Probably not the President. But two-term Commander-in-Chief Teddy Roosevelt was hard as nails.

When Black residents moved into one neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama, White supremacists unleashed a wave of terror against the community.

In 1963, school children from Birmingham, Alabama skipped class to demonstrate for racial equality. Met with police violence, they helped to bring about significant change. The Birmingham Children's Crusade, as it was known, has gone down in history as a turning point in the fight for Civil Rights.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Tragedy took the lives of 146 workers – and exposed a shocking lack of workplace health and safety laws in New York State.

When the women of Richmond, Virginia couldn’t afford to buy bread during the American Civil War, they incited the largest civil disturbance the Confederacy had ever seen.

Thurgood Marshall, the most successful civil rights lawyer of all time and America’s first Supreme court Justice, was instrumental in the fight for equality in the United States.

In 1993, Ellen Ochoa wrote her name in the stars – as the first Hispanic woman to enter orbit. She continues to inspire generations of aspiring astronauts today.

In the 1960s, Black schoolgirl Ruby Bridges and White teacher Barbara Henry showed America the true power of racial integration in the classroom.

Written over 25 years, Martha Moore Ballard’s diary gives us a unique perspective into the midwifery profession, and the lives of women in the newly independent United States of America.

By day he worked as an iron merchant – but by night, Thomas Garrett helped thousands escape slavery as a station master on the Underground Railroad.

When Black singer Marian Anderson was barred from performing in Washington by the Daughters of the Revolution – her Lincoln Memorial performance made her an icon of the Civil Rights Movement.