Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s ‘Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History’ Docuseries Sets PBS Premiere Date | Trailer

Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History, a new four-part PBS docuseries from Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the complex relationship between Black Americans and Jewish Americans.

The series premieres February 3, 2026, at 9:00 p.m. ET, and run for four consecutive Tuesdays through February 24, on PBS.

Black and Jewish Americans began on fundamentally different footing, but by the early 20th century, they were drawn together by entrenched racism and rising antisemitism. These shared experiences led to productive civic partnerships and sparked creative bonds that led to collaborations in music and film that would profoundly shape American popular culture. The relationship between these communities deepened after World War II, when the atrocities of the Holocaust came to light, reinforcing a sense of common struggle as both communities grappled with the devastating consequences of hatred and intolerance. The civil rights era is often described as the “golden age” of the alliance, when Jewish Americans worked closely with Black leaders and organizers to dismantle Jim Crow segregation.

While shared ideals of justice united Black and Jewish people, they were also divided by the realities of race in America. The historic alliance suffered as each group turned inward, prioritizing its own struggles and agendas in an increasingly fragmented social and political landscape. Still, the hope and promise of cross-cultural solidarity endures to this day, amid constant reminders of the persistent threat of violence and injustice in the world. Black and Jewish America offers a lesson in fulfilling that promise while confronting the challenges of maintaining unity against divisiveness.

In Black and Jewish America, Gates, the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, speaks with dozens of scholars, activists, religious leaders, and writers about the kinship between the two groups, defined by powerful moments of solidarity and painful episodes of division. Notable participants include Billy Crystal, Tony Kushner, Anna Deavere Smith, Al Sharpton, David Remnick, the children of noted civil rights figures Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Rabbi Abraham Joshua, Rabbi Israel Dresner, and more.

“This is a deeply personal subject for me,” said Henry Louis Gates, Jr. “It’s connected to my own coming of age during the heroic days of the civil rights struggle and is an urgent response to the violent forces I’ve seen reawakened in our society over the last decade. By tracing the long arc of Black and Jewish history in America, I hope we can see each other more clearly, more honestly, and find hope in our mutual stories of survival, resilience, and solidarity. But this series is not only about the past. It is about us – and how, together, we can prevail over the forces of hatred that seek to divide us.”

“As directors, it was a dream to explore a story so layered and endlessly fascinating, with countless echoes and lessons for today,” remarked directors Phil Bertelsen, Julie Marchesi, and Sara Wolitzky. “The Black-Jewish connection is complicated and was never inevitable. Our struggles overlap, but our experiences in America are distinct. And yet, the times these communities have come together, however imperfectly, produced defining art and civil rights gains in America. We were determined to tell the unvarnished story, in all its glory and messiness/complication.”

Episode descriptions are provided below:

Tuesday, February 3, at 9/8c – “Let My People Go”
Episode 1 explores the core differences at the start of the Black and Jewish American stories, as well as overlapping struggle, faith, resilience, and early civic partnerships by the 1920s.

Tuesday, February 10, at 9/8c – “Strange Fruit”
Episode 2 spotlights how Black and Jewish communities collaborated in the early 20th century on music, movies, and the universal fight against fascism, navigating tensions while shaping culture, confronting injustice, and leaving a lasting social impact.

Tuesday, February 17, at 9/8c – “The ‘Grand Alliance’”
Episode 3 traces the 1960s’ “Grand Alliance” as Black and Jewish communities fought for civil rights in a transformative interracial coalition, and the imbalances that quickly tested their alliance.

Tuesday, February 24, at 9/8c – “Crossroads”
Episode 4 examines the shifting Black and Jewish relationship from the 1970s onward, exploring political gains, global tensions, rising hate, and the enduring lessons of coalition building and solidarity.

Watch the extended trailer above for Black & Jewish America: An Interwoven History above.