# American Experience season 20

Season twenty of the television program American Experience was originally shown on the PBS network in the United States on January 14, 2008, and concluded on May 6, 2008. The show celebrated its 20th anniversary. The season contained 14 new episodes and began with the film Oswald's Ghost. The last eight parts of the 14-part Eyes on the Prize miniseries were a rebroadcast of the production originally shown during 1990 on PBS. It was shown as a special presentation of American Experience during February in observance of Black History Month.

## Episodes

    * Denotes multiple chapters that aired on the same date and share the same episode number
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Categories | Original air date |
| 234 | 1 | "Oswald's Ghost" | Robert Stone | Biographies | January 14, 2008 (2008-01-14) |
| 235 | 2 | "The Lobotomist" | Barak Goodman & John Maggio | Technology | January 21, 2008 (2008-01-21) |
| The film follows Dr. Walter Freeman who championed the use of lobotomies on the mentally ill. ||||||
| 236 | 3* | "Eyes on the Prize (Parts 7–8)" | James A. DeVinney & Madison D. Lacy Jr. (Part 7) Sheila C. Bernard & Samuel D. Pollard (Part 8) | Civil Rights | February 3, 2008 (2008-02-03) |
| Part 7: "The Time Has Come (1964–1966)" - Examines a lead member of the Nation of Islam - Malcolm X. The film also chronicles the political organizing work of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO) in Alabama and the shooting of James Meredith during the March Against Fear. Part 8: "Two Societies (1965–1968)" - Follows Martin Luther King Jr. during the Chicago Freedom Movement in Illinois and the tumultuous Detroit Riot of 1967 in Michigan. ||||||
| 237 | 4 | "Grand Central" | Michael Epstein | Popular Culture, Technology | February 4, 2008 (2008-02-04) |
| 238 | 5* | "Eyes on the Prize (Parts 9–10)" | Louis Massiah & Terry Kay Rockefeller (Part 9) Jacqueline Shearer & Paul Stekler (Part 10) | Civil Rights | February 10, 2008 (2008-02-10) |
| Part 9: "Power! (1966–1968)" - Chronicles the election of Carl Stokes as the mayor of Cleveland and the first African American to become mayor of a major U.S. city. The film also covers the formation of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and community control of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville school district in Brooklyn during the New York City teachers' strike of 1968. Part 10: "The Promised Land (1967–1968)" - Chronicles the final years of Martin Luther King Jr. It also covers the Poor People's Campaign and Resurrection City in Washington, D.C. ||||||
| 239 | 6* | "Eyes on the Prize (Parts 11–12)" | Sheila C. Bernard & Samuel D. Pollard (Part 11) Louis Massiah, Thomas Ott & Terry Kay Rockefeller (Part 12) | Civil Rights | February 17, 2008 (2008-02-17) |
| Part 11: "Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More (1964–1972)" - Chronicles the emergence of boxer Muhammad Ali, the student movement at Howard University, and the gathering of the National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana. Part 12: "A Nation of Law? (1968–1971)" - Chronicles the leadership and murder of Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party (BPP) in Chicago. The second segment of the film covers the Attica Prison rebellion in Attica, New York. ||||||
| 240 | 7 | "Kit Carson" | Stephen Ives | Biographies, Native American History, The American West | February 18, 2008 (2008-02-18) |
| 241 | 8* | "Eyes on the Prize (Parts 13–14)" | Jacqueline Shearer & Paul Stekler (Part 13) James A. DeVinney & Madison D. Lacy (Part 14) | Civil Rights | February 24, 2008 (2008-02-24) |
| Part 13: "The Keys to the Kingdom (1974–1980)" - Examines the Boston school desegregation crisis involving busing in Massachusetts. The second part of the film chronicles the election of Maynard Jackson as mayor of Atlanta and the first African American to become mayor of any major U.S. city in the southern United States. The last part of the film examines affirmative action and the landmark United States Supreme Court ruling Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978). Part 14: "Back to the Movement (1979–mid 1980s)" - Covers the Miami riot of 1980 and the election of Harold Washington as the first African-American mayor of Chicago. The film finishes with an overview of the Civil Rights Movement and its effect upon the United States and the world. ||||||
| 242 | 9 | "Buffalo Bill" | Rob Rapley | Biographies, Popular Culture, The American West | February 25, 2008 (2008-02-25) |
| 243 | 10 | "Minik" "Minik, the Lost Eskimo" | Axel Engstfeld | Biographies | March 31, 2008 (2008-03-31) |
| 244 | 11 | "Walt Whitman" | Mark Zwonitzer | Biographies, The Natural Environment | April 14, 2008 (2008-04-14) |
| 245 | 12 | "Roberto Clemente" | Bernardo Ruiz | Biographies, Civil Rights, Popular Culture | April 21, 2008 (2008-04-21) |
| 246 | 13 | "George H.W. Bush (Part 1)" | Austin Hoyt | Biographies, Politics, Presidents | May 5, 2008 (2008-05-05) |
| Part 1: "CAVU" ||||||
| 247 | 14 | "George H.W. Bush (Part 2)" | Austin Hoyt | Biographies, Politics, Presidents | May 6, 2008 (2008-05-06) |
| Part 2: "Echoes of the Wise Men" ||||||