Few issues have divided America more
than the issue of race. From the Founding Fathers' unwillingness
to address the problem for fear of tearing apart the nation
before it was even formed, to those dire  prophesies nearly
coming true in the Civil War, to the muddy mess that was Reconstruction,
to the dark and nightmarish history of lynchings that plagued
America's backroads for decades, to the turbulent times of
the Civil Rights era, to today's highly charged debates on
race and class and subtle racism, America's history of race
relations is far from pretty.
In
the 1950s and 1960s, that underlying ugliness began to boil
for the second time in U.S. history, festering no more, rising
to the surface of American consciousness like a storm. It
was the Civil Rights era, when men and women with an astonishing
ability to hold firm in the face of what is right stood before
the nation and said, "No more."
America would never be the same again.
The History Channel's Voices Of Civil Rights takes
us back to that historic era, to a time when men spoke of
dreams and women would not give up their seat. When children
faced howls of hate and states spied on their own for daring
to care about their fellow man. To a time when America's image
of what it meant to be black was reshaped forever.
Spanning
just over four hours spread over two discs, Voices Of Civil
Rights is not one extended documentary, but five, gathered
under the umbrella of one weighty topic, a themed set gathering
several separate pieces all pertaining to the Civil Rights
Movement. Rather than the theatrical reenactments we see so
often from The History Channel, here we get nothing but the
words and thoughts of those who were there, with images to
accompany those words. It's all the stronger for it.
 The set begins with the most powerful and moving piece, Voices
Of Civil Rights, a roughly 40-minute oral history from
people who lived through the Civil Rights Movement. We hear
harrowing accounts of black school children tormented by angry
white racists; first hand stories from ground zero; the recollections
of people both black and white who were on hand when America
was forced to look at race head on. No amount of archival
footage and no number of talking head historians can match
the weight of such words direct from those who can best discuss
the era. A true highlight and worth the price of admission
for this alone.
 Mississippi
State Secrets is next, a close look into the Mississippi
Sovereignty Commission, a government organization that was
created to spy on citizens suspected of being connected to
the Civil Rights Movement. This often overlooked corner of
the Civil Rights era warrants a brighter spotlight, with its
chilling parallels to today's America, in which neighbors
are urged to turn in neighbors. This 40-minute segment was
the most surprising of the bunch, largely because the portrait
of such brazen violations of governmental power continues
to be so relevant.
In Crossing The Bridge, we're given a close look at
the infamous 1965 brutality that came to the Edmund Pettis
Bridge in Selma, Alabama, reminding us that the Civil Rights
era was more than uplifting speeches and dignified stubbornness.
It was also brutal, shocking violence reigned down on civilians
by the same government pledged to protect those civilians.
Terrible to see.
 Disc
two opens with what most would consider the centerpiece documentary,
the hour-long Biography: Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Man
And The Dream. It's a front-to-back, top-to-bottom look
at King's life, good and bad, from his humble beginnings to
his private torment to his tragic murder. Like the best installments
of Biography, this is loaded with rare photos, stirring
archival footage and insightful commentary from biographers,
family members and historians. A well-done piece focusing
on the man who has come to define the heights of the era.
Rounding things out is Biography: Thurgood Marshall: Justice
For All, an excellent look at the life of one of the most
outspoken, influential and tireless men of the last 50 years.
This reviewer was not intimately  familiar
with Marshall's life prior to watching this and came away
with great respect for the man. Quality material, this.
Always taking a moderated, straightforward approach, these
five features offer a measured, thoughtful look into some
of the key aspects of this turbulent time in American history.
Race remains a powerful and divisive issue in the body politic,
a subject for some still among the most pressing facing America.
No matter your viewpoint on the state of race relations in
America today, watching these glimpses into the Civil Rights
era serves as a stark reminder not just of how far we've come,
but more importantly, of the terrible places we've been.
Presentation
If you've seen The History Channel - considering it's one
of the few channels worth watching I'd certainly hope you
have - you know what you're getting here. This two-disc set
features excellent transfers of the History Channel and A&E
presentations, looking better than they'll ever look on TV.
No, you won't be using these discs to show off your HDTV,
but historical documentaries and biographies really aren't
the stuff of demo material anyway.
The sound is equally good. Crisp, clean, always clear, always
understandable . and that's all that matters, given the material.
Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.
Extras
I could go into a rant about how absurd it is to see "Interactive
Menus" and "Scene Selection" still listed as DVD Features
in 2006, but I'll save the rant for a disc more worthy of
such scorn and instead just tell you that Voices Of Civil
Rights contains no extra material. With five features
and four hours of material here, though, that's no great crime.
The Bottom Line
I have several of these History Channel themed sets in my
personal collection and have generally been pretty pleased
with the bang-for-your-buck value they provide. Voices
Of Civil Rights is the best I've encountered so far, largely
because the quality of the material is the best by far. Offering
the viewer a good sense of the weight of the era without resorting
to needless melodrama, this collection of historical documentary
and biography features make for a great learning tool. Even
more, it serves as a great reminder of just how recent some
of America's darkest times truly were. Highly recommended.
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