Stream now with KPBS+ / Watch Tuesday, June 30, 2026 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV
Explore how craft is intertwined with our nation's defining principles. Featuring Robert L. Lynch, Sammy Little, Smithsonian Institution museums, Harvey Pratt, the Veterans History Project, Eudorah Moore and Berea College Student Craft.
Part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, the Veterans History Project is an archive of interviews, photographs, memoirs, illustrations, and other historic documents that gives voice to the personal experiences of US war veterans. Housed in the Library of Congress, this vast collection provides firsthand accounts of the realities of war, making them accessible to the public and preserving them for future generations. Segment from the DEMOCRACY episode.
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Robert L. Lynch, President of Americans for the Arts, who speaks to the presence of craft in U.S. history and the role of government in the arts. He also guides us through several of the significant Washington, D.C. monuments and memorials, highlighting their aesthetic and emotional resonance. Lynch highlights the importance of craft to our Presidents, from the craftsmanship in the Capitol dome, to Eleanor Roosevelt's founding of Val-Kill Industries, to the Clintons' involvement in the Year of American Craft. Segment from the DEMOCRACY episode.
Calligrapher Sammy Little, who has applied her skillful hand to projects for the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the U.S. Supreme Court and presidential inaugurations, discusses the importance of cursive handwriting in our nation’s democratic traditions and as a record of our nation’s history.
