{"id":15856,"date":"2017-08-30T15:50:47","date_gmt":"2017-08-30T22:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=films&#038;p=15856"},"modified":"2025-05-20T11:04:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T18:04:00","slug":"tell-them-we-are-rising","status":"publish","type":"films","link":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/","title":{"rendered":"Tell Them We Are Rising"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rich history of America\u2019s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) began before the end of slavery, flourished in the 20<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">century, and profoundly influenced the course of the nation for over 150 years \u2014 yet remains largely unknown. With <\/span><b><i>Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the latest documentary from Stanley Nelson (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black Panthers, Freedom Riders<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) and Marco Williams, the powerful story of the rise, influence, and evolution of HBCUs comes to life. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A haven for Black intellectuals, artists, and revolutionaries \u2014 and a path of promise toward the American dream \u2014 HBCUs have educated the architects of freedom movements and cultivated leaders in every field while remaining unapologetically Black for more than 150 years. These institutions have nurtured some of the most influential Americans of our time, from Booker T. Washington to Martin Luther King, Jr., W.E.B. Du Bois to Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison to Oprah Winfrey, Alice Walker to Spike Lee to Common. \u00a0A key driver of Black social, political and economic progress, HBCUs were also a place of unprecedented freedom for African American students and a refuge from the rampant racism that raged outside the campus walls. Tell Them We Are Rising captures this important history to tell the dynamic story of Americans who refused to be denied a higher education and \u2014 in their resistance \u2014 created a set of institutions that would influence and shape the landscape of the country for centuries to come.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The rich history of America\u2019s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) began before the end of slavery, flourished in the 20th century, and profoundly influenced the course of the nation for over 150 years \u2014 yet remains largely unknown. With Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities, the latest documentary [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":15879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic":[1246,1264],"class_list":["post-15856","films","type-films","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-education","topic-race-ethnicity"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tell Them We Are Rising | History &amp; Impact of Historically Black Colleges &amp; Universities | Independent Lens | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Film Tell Them We Are Rising explores pivotal role historically black colleges &amp; universities (HBCUs) have played over 150 years in American history\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tell Them We Are Rising | History &amp; Impact of Historically Black Colleges &amp; Universities | Independent Lens | PBS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Film Tell Them We Are Rising explores pivotal role historically black colleges &amp; universities (HBCUs) have played over 150 years in American history\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Independent Lens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-20T18:04:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/tell-them-we-are-rising-tempsig.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/\",\"name\":\"Tell Them We Are Rising | History & Impact of Historically Black Colleges & Universities | Independent Lens | PBS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/tell-them-we-are-rising-tempsig.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-08-30T22:50:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-20T18:04:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Film Tell Them We Are Rising explores pivotal role historically black colleges & universities (HBCUs) have played over 150 years in American history\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/tell-them-we-are-rising-tempsig.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/tell-them-we-are-rising-tempsig.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1280,\"caption\":\"Young African American women graduating from college\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tell Them We Are Rising\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/\",\"name\":\"Independent Lens\",\"description\":\"Independent Documentary Films\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tell Them We Are Rising | History & Impact of Historically Black Colleges & Universities | Independent Lens | PBS","description":"Film Tell Them We Are Rising explores pivotal role historically black colleges & universities (HBCUs) have played over 150 years in American history","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tell Them We Are Rising | History & Impact of Historically Black Colleges & Universities | Independent Lens | PBS","og_description":"Film Tell Them We Are Rising explores pivotal role historically black colleges & universities (HBCUs) have played over 150 years in American history","og_url":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/","og_site_name":"Independent Lens","article_modified_time":"2025-05-20T18:04:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/tell-them-we-are-rising-tempsig.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/","url":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/","name":"Tell Them We Are Rising | History & Impact of Historically Black Colleges & Universities | Independent Lens | PBS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/tell-them-we-are-rising-tempsig.jpg","datePublished":"2017-08-30T22:50:47+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-20T18:04:00+00:00","description":"Film Tell Them We Are Rising explores pivotal role historically black colleges & universities (HBCUs) have played over 150 years in American history","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/tell-them-we-are-rising-tempsig.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/tell-them-we-are-rising-tempsig.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"caption":"Young African American women graduating from college"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/tell-them-we-are-rising\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tell Them We Are Rising"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/","name":"Independent Lens","description":"Independent Documentary Films","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/films\/15856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/films"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/films"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15856"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/films\/15856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31852,"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/films\/15856\/revisions\/31852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=15856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}