Smithsonian Channel to explore the history of slavery with One Thousand Years of Slavery from Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance

Bassett and Vance have teamed with BAFTA-winning British-Nigerian director David Olusoga on the four-part docuseries, which "explores stories of survival and devastation that span across the globe – from Africa to the Caribbean, London to Washington DC, and more," per Deadline. "Through preserved historical documentation and insight from experts, every story unfolds to chronicle how slavery frames the present and continues to act as a distinct force on the future. The series features interviews with public figures including Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, Senator Cory Booker, and actor David Harewood." Olusoga says of One Thousand Years of Slavery: "Slavery is not that long ago. It’s really recent. It’s painfully close to us, and it’s no surprise it’s still shaping our societies. Our aim is to break away from just seeing the slave trade as a phenomena that exists after the conquest and discovery of the New World, but to look back. It’s to set what happened in the New World in context, that it came from somewhere.”