Nearly ten years in the making, this landmark six-hour film series exposes the truth through surprising revelations, dramatic recreations, rare archival photography and riveting first-person accounts. [It] helps define the reality of slavery's past through the insightful commentary of a wide range of voices including General Colin Powell, authors John Edgar Wideman and Barry Unsworth and leading scholars. Narrated by Academy Award nominee Angela Bassett it offers unparalleled understanding - from slavery's birth in the early 1600s through the violent onset of civil war in 1860.