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American Experience

Extended Trailer | Blinding of Isaac Woodard

How a horrific racial violence became a powerful catalyst for the civil rights movement.

Aired 03/30/2021

American Experience

Extended Trailer | Blinding of Isaac Woodard

Preview: Season 33 Episode 3 | 2m

How a horrific racial violence became a powerful catalyst for the civil rights movement.

In 1946, Isaac Woodard, a Black army sergeant on his way home to South Carolina after serving in WWII, was pulled from a bus for arguing with the driver. The local chief of police savagely beat him, leaving him unconscious and permanently blind.

Aired 03/30/2021

Corporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Carlisle Companies. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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The War at Home

Booker T. Spicely was a Black soldier fatally shot by a white bus driver in 1944. (7m 53s)

Chapter 1 | The Blinding of Isaac Woodard

Video has Closed Captions

Watch a preview of The Blinding of Isaac Woodard. (10m 31s)

Isaac Woodard

Isaac Woodard was a decorated African American WWII Veteran from South Carolina. (1m 4s)

Judge Julius Waties Waring

Judge Waring became an unexpected civil rights champion with rulings on pivotal cases. (1m 7s)

Trailer | Blinding of Isaac Woodard | American Experience

In 1946, a local police chief savagely beat and permanently blinded a Black army sergeant. (30s)

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Corporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Carlisle Companies. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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