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This Far by
Faith: African-American Spiritual Journeys
PBS
premiere: Tuesday through Thursday, June 24-26, 2003, 9pm to 11pm
(check local listings)
pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith
In six hours of powerful storytelling, This Far by Faith examines the
African-American religious experience through the last three centuries. From
the arrival of the early African slaves through the Civil War,
reconstruction, Jim Crow, the great depression, the civil rights era, and
into the 21st century, This Far by Faith explores the connections
between faith and the development of African-American cultural values.
A co-production of Blackside Inc. and The Faith Project, This Far
by Faith is the last project conceptualized by legendary filmmaker Henry
Hampton. Hampton’s contributions to television include the Peabody and Emmy
Award-winning Eyes on the Prize, America’s War on Poverty, and
Malcolm X: Make it Plain. Before his death in 1998, Hampton wrote
that it was his dream to celebrate the sweep and range of African-American
religious experience “in the context of the nation’s struggle to realize the
goals of democracy and humanity, the heart and soul of America itself: who
we are as a nation, what we believe as a people, and what we consider worth
dying—and living—for.”
Lorraine Toussaint (Any Day Now, Crossing Jordan) narrates This
Far by Faith. The companion book of the same title was written by NPR
correspondent Juan Williams (with historical notes by University of Indiana
professor Quinton Hosford Dixie). June Cross (Secret Daughter) and
Dante James (The Great Depression) are the co-executive producers.
This Far by Faith premieres on PBS on Tuesday through Thursday, June
24-26, 2003, 9pm to 11pm.
Each hour-long episode combines rich archival photography, compelling music,
inspiring interviews, and vibrant recreations to shed light on a population
that has confronted adversity and clung to hope since the first enslaved
peoples arrived on these shores.
“This Far by Faith explores how African-Americans fought for their
spiritual traditions.” says executive co-producer June Cross. “It describes
how those traditions sustained them as they struggled for the right to
express themselves, and how, out of that struggle, the very cultural,
political, and social fabric of this nation was transformed. This Far by
Faith started as the vision of one extraordinary man—Henry Hampton, the
founder of Blackside Inc. He inspired so many of us—including the team
which initially gathered to produce Faith after his death. Our faith
in his vision meant we could not rest—we could not let his memory rest—until
this series aired.”
The first hour, There Is a River, begins with the stories of
Sojourner Truth and Denmark Vesey. Both were born into slavery, and both
used the Gospel to shape their identities; however, both use their voices in
very different ways—one chooses retribution and the other, engagement.
Hour two, God Is a Negro takes place after Emancipation, when
minister-turned-journalist Henry McNeal Turner uses the black church to
engage black people in the political realm. Denied access to the
institutions of society at large, black religious communities found and
maintain their own grammar schools, universities, banks, insurance
companies, printing presses, nursing homes, and hospitals.
Hour three, Guide My Feet, begins in the Jim Crow era, when many
African-Americans migrated north. In Chicago, Thomas C. Dorsey, a pianist
with blues singer Ma Rainey, melds his religious faith with his musical
talent to invent what we know as gospel music. In present-day San
Francisco, the Reverend Cecil Williams takes his religious faith and his
compassion for all people to the streets and builds the Glide Memorial
United Methodist Church congregation.
Hour four, Freedom Faith, follows the Civil Rights Movement in the
years after World War II. Ordinary people risk their lives to challenge the
sin of racism in American culture and strive to fulfill the nation’s promise
of “liberty and justice for all.” For many, the belief that God intended
all people to be equal and free sustains them in the struggle.
Hour five, Inheritors of the Faith, plots the growth of the Nation of
Islam under the leadership of Elijah Muhammad. After his death, his son,
Warith, makes a departure from his father’s teachings and leads the Nation
of Islam towards a more orthodox practice of Islam.
The series concludes with hour six, Rise Up and Call Their Names,
which chronicles a two-year interfaith, multiracial, multiethnic pilgrimage
from Massachusetts to Africa—by way of Florida and the Caribbean—undertaken
to heal the wounds of slavery. But is religious belief alone enough to hold
the pilgrimage together?
This Far by Faith: African-American Spiritual Journeys is a
co-production of Blackside Inc. (Eyes on the Prize, America’s War
on Poverty, and Malcolm X: Make it Plain) and The Faith Project,
in association with the Independent Television Service. It is presented on
PBS by WGBH and ITVS.
It was directed by W. Noland Walker (There Is a River), June Cross
and Regge Life (God Is a Negro), Lulie Hadad (Guide My Feet),
Alice Markowitz (Freedom Faith), Valerie Linson (Inheritors of the
Faith), and Leslie Farrell (Rise Up and Call Their Names). It was
produced by W. Noland Walker (There Is a River), June Cross (God
Is a Negro), Lulie Hadad (Guide My Feet), Alice Markowitz (Freedom
Faith), Valerie Linson (Inheritors of the Faith), and Leslie
Farrell (Rise Up and Call Their Names). The co-executive producers
are June Cross and Dante James. Lorraine Toussaint (Any Day Now, Crossing
Jordan) is the series narrator. Judi Hampton is the president of
Blackside Inc.
Funding was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public
television viewers, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The
Pew Charitable Trusts, The Lily Endowment, Inc., The Ford Foundation, The
National Endowment for the Humanities, the Independent Television Service,
The Annie Casey Foundation, and The National Black Programming Consortium.
This Far by Faith is closed captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing
viewers, and described for people who are blind or visually impaired by the
Media Access Group at WGBH. The descriptive narration is available on the
SAP channel of stereo TVs and VCRs. For more information about This Far
by Faith, visit the series Web site at pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith.
WGBH Boston is America’s preeminent public broadcasting producer. One-third
of PBS’s primetime lineup and companion Web content, as well as many public
radio favorites, are produced by WGBH. The station also is a pioneer in
educational multimedia and in access technologies for people with
disabilities.
Independent Television Service (ITVS) funds and presents award-winning
documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects
on the Web and the weekly series Independent Lens. ITVS was
established by a historic mandate of Congress to champion independently
produced programs that take creative risks, spark public dialogue and serve
underserved audiences. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
Press Contacts
Leslie Sepuka, WGBH Boston, 617-300-5329, leslie_sepuka@wgbh.org
Johanna Baker, WGBH New York, 212-708-3022, johanna_baker@wgbh.org
Additional Press Information
All press materials and photography for This Far by Faith are
available through the PBS (www.pbs.org/pressroom), the WGBH Boston (pressroom.wgbh.org),
and the ITVS (www.itvs.org/pressroom) press rooms.
March 2003
© WGBH Educational Foundation
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