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.
Corporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Carlisle Companies. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Extended Trailer | Blinding of Isaac Woodard
Preview: Season 33 Episode 3 | 2m
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.
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When is a photo an act of resistance?
For families that just decades earlier were torn apart by chattel slavery, being photographed together was proof of their resilience.Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipBooker 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 was a decorated African American WWII Veteran from South Carolina. (1m 4s)
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)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipCorporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Carlisle Companies. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.