Filibuster
Today, many are familiar with the term “filibuster,” a procedure to prolong debate and delay a vote — but less well-known is its complicated history, which began not with the framers of the Constitution but half a century later, at the height of tensions surrounding slavery.
Starting with pre-Civil War theatrics in the Senate Chamber, the filibuster has evolved through emancipation, Reconstruction, the Jim Crow era, and the civil rights movement to become an all-encompassing tactic with the capacity to trump the will of the majority.
In this episode of Black History in Two Minutes (or so) hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. — with additional commentary from author Adam Jentleson and Imani Perry of Princeton University — we trace how an antebellum legislative maneuver meant to empower slaveholders became a Senate institution at the center of urgent debate.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Robert Smith
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Dyllan McGee
SERIES PRODUCER
Kelsi Lindus
PRODUCERS
Chelsea Adewunmi
Oluwaseun Babalola
Kevin Burke
Megan Graham
Vashni Korin
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Robert L. Yacyshyn
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Ashley Thomas
POST PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
Veronica Leib
POST PRODUCTION MANAGER
Katherine Swiatek
WRITTEN BY
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
ORIGINAL MUSIC COMPOSED BY
Matthew Head
ADDITIONAL WRITING
Kevin Burke
SERIES EDITOR
Reena Mangubat
EDITORS
Cierra Pacheco
Liza Renzulli
Anne Yao
ASSISTANT EDITORS
Ben Pakman
Patrice Bowman
Imani Dean
SUPERVISING PRODUCERS
Will Ventura
Sara Wolitzky
ARCHIVAL PRODUCERS
Megan Graham
Jade Edwards-Lovell
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Seng Chen
Gregory Brutus
Nausheen Dadabhoy
Archival Materials Courtesy of:
Alamy Images
Associated Press
C-SPAN
Everett Collection, Inc.
Getty Images
Library of Congress
U.S. House of Representatives
Additional Material:
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005
Library of Congress
Michael Fleshman
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
National Archives and Records Administration
The Idaho Daily Statesman
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library
The Muncie Morning Star
Special Thanks
Jorge Felipe
Amy Gosdanian
Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham
Adam Jentleson
Romilla Karnick
Imani Perry
John Thornton