Coming this September, American Experience presents a special two-night event exploring the long road to public school desegregation in America—and its complex legacy—with two new films that highlight the stories of those on the front lines, from a city in the North to a small town in the South. On September 12, 1974, police were stationed outside Boston schools as Black and white students were bused for the first time in compliance with a federal court desegregation order. Shocking violence, directed mostly at children, ensued. THE BUSING BATTLEGROUND pulls back the curtain on the volatile effort to end school segregation in Boston, detailing the decades-long struggle for educational equity and the crisis that pushed the city to the brink of explosion. THE BUSING BATTLEGROUND premieres Monday, September 11th at 9/8c on PBS. Click the link in our bio for more.

Coming this September, American Experience presents a special two-night event exploring the long road to public school desegregation in America—and its complex legacy—with two new films that highlight the stories of those on the front lines, from a city in the North to a small town in the South. In the fall of 1970, schools in a deeply divided Leland, Mississippi complied with a federal order to desegregate and a group of first graders entered school as part of the first integrated class. Amidst fears and resistance to change, the students led with an open mind. THE HARVEST: INTEGRATING MISSISSIPPI'S SCHOOLS premieres Tues, Sept 12 at 9/8c on PBS. Watch live, then stream anytime on our website, our YouTube channel, or the PBS app. Link in bio for more details.

J. Robert Oppenheimer was brilliant, arrogant, proud, charismatic — a national hero. Under his leadership during World War II, the United States became the first nation to harness the power of nuclear energy to create the ultimate weapon of mass destruction — the atomic bomb. But after the bomb brought the war to an end, America turned on him, humiliated him, and cast him aside. Why? Watch our film THE TRIALS OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER on our YouTube channel, our website, or stream anytime on the PBS app.

"They call me Marsha 'Pay It No Mind' Johnson." 💐 Marsha P. Johnson, outspoken LGBTQ+ rights organizer and major figure in the Stonewall uprising, was born on August 24, 1945. Learn more about Johnson's role in the LGBTQ+ movement at the link in bio. 📸: Hank O'Neal, Public Domain

On August 23, 1994, Eugene Bullard, the first known Black combat pilot in WWI, was posthumously commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Bullard lived two lives: one as a war hero in cosmopolitan Paris--and another in his homeland. Read more about the two lives of Eugene Bullard at the link in bio. 📸: U.S. Air Force

Despite international protest and allegations of perjury, evidence tampering, and judicial prejudice, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed for robbery and murder on August 23, 1927. Click the link in bio to learn more.

TONIGHT on American Experience, revisit two films on the devastating power of water. At 9/8c, explore the 1928 St. Francis Dam collapse and its aftermath, the second deadliest disaster in California history in FLOOD IN THE DESERT. Then at 10/9c, learn about the 1927 Mississippi River flood from New Orleans to Illinois, which left a million people homeless and led to a major Black migration to the North, in FATAL FLOOD. Tune in to your local @PBS station or stream on the PBS App.

In 1964, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party sent delegates to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to challenge the dominance of the all-white Mississippi Democratic Party. When Fannie Lou Hamer spoke before the DNC Credentials Committee on August 22nd, her testimony was so powerful that President Johnson called an impromptu press conference to get her off the air. But his plan backfired and her story would be broadcast that night on televisions across America.

Before dawn on August 21, 1992, six heavily armed U.S. marshals made their way up to the isolated mountaintop home of Randy and Vicki Weaver and their children on Ruby Ridge. RUBY RIDGE is now streaming online and on the PBS App.

Residents of South Boston had a name for September 12, 1974: Opening Day. On the first day of the school year, Black students from Roxbury were bused to South Boston High School, initiating the busing plan ordered by Judge W. Arthur Garrity. When the "wagon train" of buses arrived, the students were met with an angry white crowd, screaming epithets and throwing bananas. It was, as Ira Jackson recalled, human nature at its ugliest. Watch THE BUSING BATTLEGROUND on Monday, September 11th at 9/8c on @PBS. Check your local listings. #BusingBattlegroundPBS #AmericanExperiencePBS

On August 21, 1858, candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas kicked off a series of debates as they vied for a seat in the U.S. Senate. The topic? The expansion of slavery into new territories. Although Lincoln lost the election, he won national recognition that would carry him to a presidential nomination. Click the link in bio to learn more. 🖼: U.S. Post Office

One of the unsung heroes of the fight against polio, Dr. Isabel Morgan was born on August 20, 1911. Click the link in bio to learn more.