1968: The Year That Changed America — Season 1, Episode 2: Part Two: Spring
Documentary • 60 min • 1 season, 4 episodes • ★ 5.8/10
Episode synopsis
As the poet said, “April is the cruelest month,” and it proves to be just that when Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis. In response, riots break out across the country. The Academy Award for Best Picture goes to the racially-themed In the Heat of the Night and Hair opens on Broadway. At Columbia University, striking students take control of the campus, leading to a bloody confrontation with police. As the battle of Khe Sahn rages in Vietnam, the United States and North Vietnam open peace talks in Paris. In the presidential race, Senators Kennedy and McCarthy battle each other from state to state in pursuit of the Democratic nomination. After the two trade victories, the nation turns its eyes to the final, fateful California primary.
About 1968: The Year That Changed America
A half century look back at a year marked by the assassinations of MLK and RFK, a contentious presidential election, escalating anti-Vietnam War sentiment and more.