Premieres Tuesdays, Jan. 28 - Feb. 18, 2025 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS app + Encores Wednesdays, Feb. 5 - 26 at 8 a.m. on KPBS 2
GREAT MIGRATIONS: A PEOPLE ON THE MOVE examines the powerful influence of Black migration on American culture and society. While the first large migration was a forced journey from Africa in bondage, voluntary migrations in the 20th and 21st centuries have significantly reshaped the nation.
This series explores the first and second waves of the Great Migration from the South to the North during the two World Wars, the “New Great Migration” of African Americans returning home to the South of their ancestors since the 1970s, and the “Next Great Migration” marked by the historic and growing influx of African and Caribbean immigration in the 20th and 21st centuries. The film powerfully demonstrates that movement is a defining feature of the Black American experience.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Episode 1: "Exodus" Premieres Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV - Explore the first wave of the Great Migration, when more than a million Black Americans fled the Jim Crow South for the promised lands of the North.
Episode 2: "Streets Paved in Gold" Premieres Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV - Learn about the second wave of the Great Migration when Northern and Western Black communities matured through migration and transformed the cultural and political power of Black America.
Episode 3: "One Way Ticket Back" Premieres Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV - Explore how the reverse migration of Black Americans to the South—driven by mass movements, economic change, and an ongoing struggle for freedom—continued to reshape the country.
Episode 4: "Coming to America" Premieres Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV - Hear the story of African and Caribbean immigrants in the United States and examine their profound impact on American culture and what it means to be Black in America.
Watch On Your Schedule: Episodes will be available to stream with the PBS app. Extend your viewing window with KPBS Passport, a member benefit that unlocks exclusive shows and extra content on the PBS app.
