Premiering Tonight: Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s Great Migrations Explores Black America's Epic Journey.

Emmy-nominated producer, host, and historian Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. is set to debut his latest docuseries, Great Migrations: A People On The Move, on PBS. Premiering Today, January 28 at 8:00 p.m. on PBS, the four-part series delves into the history of African American migrations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. It explores the profound cultural, societal and political impacts of these migrations and the enduring "migratory spirit" that has shaped Black America post-emancipation.

Dr. Gates examines the complex forces driving these migrations, including political and economic pressures, as well as the hope and fear tied to the search for opportunity in new lands. The series revisits pivotal periods in American history, painting a vivid picture of how African Americans sought their own promised land and contributed to reshaping the nation.

The significance of these migrations and their impact on the African American experience is central to the storytelling. As Julia Marchesi, one of the series’ producer-directors, explains, “The Great Migration was one of the most dramatic demographic transformations in U.S. history, and yet the story has not been fully told in documentary format. The actual story of how the migration began, how word spread, where people headed, what happened when they got there, and how that movement changed the trajectory of American culture, society, and politics has not been fully explored.”

For Nailah Ife Sims, another producer-director, the project also resonated deeply on a personal level. “The personal transformative nature of migration is something I’ve come to know through my family histories,” Sims said. “One with ancestors who’ve migrated from the South to Chicago, and the other from Haiti to the States. This series was a unique opportunity to contextualize and explore the meanings of those migrations within the larger history of our country and the ongoing saga of Black America which began as a forced migration.”

Great Migrations: A People On The Move promises to shed light on the enduring impact of African American migrations, reflecting on their transformative legacy at a time when the word “migrant” remains at the center of national and global conversations.

Be sure to tune in Today as we join Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. on this historical journey into the heart of one of America’s most significant narratives.