Black in America 2

'Texas in Queens': Junior wranglers find refuge with black cowboys

Boney D and Rabbit come from rough parts of Brooklyn, places that could be unfavorably compared to the Wild West.

Country singer aims to break down barriers

A sealed envelope awaits in Rissi Palmer's Bible.

Tom Joyner gets justice for electrocuted kin, 94 years later

Nationally syndicated radio host Tom Joyner raised his hand in victory.

Two brothers, no fears and $1 billion empire

Michael and Steven Roberts didn't have two quarters to rub together a couple of decades ago. Now, the two African-American business leaders estimate their holdings -- from hotels to TV stations -- are worth $1 billion. One St. Louis hotel they own once barred black people.

Urban gardeners farm plots beneath roar of passing jets

Heartbreaking art helps kids with inmate parents

The drawings are macabre, especially because they're created by children: stick figures writhing in pain and confusion, a knife dripping with blood and a broken heart.

Black in America: Resources

The following is a list of local and national organizations and programs designed to address many of the issues raised in "CNN Presents: Black in America 2" and "CNN & Essence: Reclaiming the Dream." Some of the people or guests featured in the programs are involved in some of these organizations.

Obama: I didn't mean to slight Cambridge police

President Obama said Friday he spoke with the police officer who arrested a Harvard professor and told the officer he did not mean to malign the Cambridge Police Department when he said police acted stupidly.

Brooklyn kids give back in South Africa

It's late Sunday morning inside a cavernous Salvation Army Church in Soweto, South Africa. Services, complete with African and traditional music, have just finished and a catchy drum beat with a distinctly American hip-hop sound is coming from the stage.

Commentary: Obama, race and my arrest

President Obama expressed what many Americans feel regarding the recent arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates -- that the Cambridge, Massachusetts, police responded "stupidly."

Entrepreneurs inspired by historic Black Wall Street

A 100-inch, high definition screen projects an intense college basketball game. Massage therapists rub the nervous tensions of men and women away. Scissors skillfully cut men's hair. Two chandeliers adorn the main room, complimented by brick walls and a glass bar that doubles as a retail counter.

Commentary: Good schools aren't only for rich kids

"Why do only rich kids get good schools?"

Black in the White House: Folks see Lewis as their son

On his first day on the job, Kevin Lewis almost didn't make it into the White House.

Black in the White House: 'American Dream is accessible to anybody'

Karen Richardson may not have known where she would end up, but she has always known that with hard work, anything is possible.

Working in the White House a 'pinch yourself thing' every day

Michael Strautmanis knew the Obamas before they were the Obamas.

Cambridge mayor: Gates' arrest shouldn't have happened

The mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, said she is going to meet with the city's police chief to make sure the scenario that caused the arrest of a prominent black Harvard University professor does not happen again.

Obama: Police who arrested professor 'acted stupidly'

President Obama said that police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, "acted stupidly" in arresting a prominent black Harvard professor last week after a confrontation at the man's home.

Perry's greatest accomplishment has nothing to do with business

Tyler Perry is known today as the first African-American to own a major film and TV studio. He's a pioneer whose own life story is a rags-to-riches tale that reads like a screenplay.

Obama's 'green-jobs' guru: from activist to environmentalist

Van Jones defies environmentalist stereotypes. He's not the earthy-crunchy, Birkenstock-wearing type. Nor is he a contemporary and corporate version -- a hedge fund-fueled entrepreneur looking to make millions by building wind farms and solar-powered corporate headquarters.

Commentary: Minority execs ready to step up and lead

President Obama has challenged all Americans to participate in the volunteer service movement and to support initiatives that help solve the problems that plague our communities.

Principal's tough love, high expectations gets kids into college

Principal Steve Perry doesn't believe in cursory inspections. For him, every single detail matters. T's are always crossed, I's are always dotted. Shirts are always buttoned and tucked in.

'Training Day' director gives kids a chance

When director Antoine Fuqua rolls into a community to shoot a movie, he becomes part of that community.

YouTube student rap stars take on poetry

Seventh graders at Ron Clark Academy became an overnight sensation during the presidential election when their YouTube performance of "You Can Vote However You Like" catapulted them to online stardom.

Commentary: Professor arrested for 'housing while black'

Last Thursday, President Obama, in his fiery speech before the NAACP Convention, admitted that "an African-American child is roughly five times as likely as a white child to see the inside of a prison."

The 'unfathomable' arrest of a black scholar

Boris Kodjoe owns a mansion in Atlanta. But when he goes to answer his door, the black actor knows what it's like to be an outcast.

Black in America 2: Parent and Teacher Discussion Guide

With "Black in America 2," CNN deepens its investigation of the most challenging issues facing African-Americans. CNN's Soledad O'Brien journeys to South Africa and criss-crosses the U.S., reporting on groundbreaking solutions that are transforming the black experience in America. O'Brien uncovers pioneers who are making a difference: people inspiring volunteerism, programs that are improving access to quality health care and education, and leaders working to address financial struggles and develop strong families. Before and after viewing these programs, use our free Discussion Questions and Learning Activity to facilitate a conversation with your middle and high school students.

Preview Black in America 2

Shange's 'For Colored Girls' has lasting power

A rainbow brought Ntozake Shange some peace.

YouTube student stars still rapping to learn

Seventh graders at Ron Clark Academy became an overnight sensation during the presidential election when their YouTube performance of "You Can Vote However You Like" catapulted them to online stardom.

Tyler Perry sending rebuffed day-care kids to Disney World

Tyler Perry, the star, writer and producer of films such as "Madea Goes to Jail" and the television show "House of Payne," could be adding philanthropist to his growing list of credits.

Commentary: Raise a ruckus, make a difference

In the words of my mentor and America's foremost child advocate Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of The Children's Defense Fund, it's time to "raise a ruckus people, it is time to raise a ruckus!"

Doctor journeys to Ghana for triple negative breast cancer clues

For Dr. Lisa Newman, a 16-hour trip over two days from Michigan to Ghana in Africa is just part of the journey in uncovering clues about a rare form of breast cancer.

Living in the now: Cancer survivor finds her purpose in life

Who knew that fighting breast cancer for the third time in seven years would reveal my purpose in life.

Shange's 'For Colored Girls' has lasting power

A rainbow brought Ntozake Shange some peace.

Saving black marriages: Does it take a village?

From the outside, Johnny and Shanna Woodbury looked like the perfect couple. They had been married 13 years, owned multiple properties and were successful managers. They also had four beautiful children -- a son and a daughter fresh out of college they had prior to getting married and a 12-year-old daughter on the cheerleading team and an 8-year-old son on the honor roll.

Tracking Michelle Obama's slave roots

In many places across the South you can walk in the footsteps of slaves, and if you understand the history, it is not a happy journey. The same is true at Friendfield Plantation outside Georgetown, South Carolina.

Family roots lure many African-Americans back to South

Anita Davenport's curiosity about her family's past began with the photographs that surrounded her. She said she wanted to know the stories behind the images of her parents and uncles.

Commentary: What parents can do for their kids

Raising the quality of teaching and learning in American schools is a priority. It receives a great deal of attention in our national discourse and should receive more.

Commentary: Racial progress is far from finished

America was proud of itself for electing Barack Obama. The pride was not just partisan and ideological; it was also specifically and clearly racial.

Blacks in survey say race relations no better with Obama

African-Americans really like President Obama, but more and more feel that race relations have not gotten better since he took office, a new national poll found.

Urban farming movement 'like a revolution'

On a plot of soil, nestled against the backdrop of skyscrapers in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, a group of residents are turning a lack of access to fresh produce into a revival of old traditions and self-empowerment.

In the black culture, a richness of hairstory

When Clifton Green and his wife adopted an adorable little girl from Ethiopia, they knew they would eventually have to deal with the hair issue.

Single black women choosing to adopt

Wendy Duren thought she did everything right.

Commentary: Where the jobs really are

President Obama's "No Excuses" address to the NAACP last Thursday has already gone down as one of his classics. Obama told the organization that even if black children are more likely to face obstacles, the job of black parents is to strive for the best for them regardless.

Colin Powell, foot soldiers battle America's dropout 'catastrophe'

Willie Thornton is on a rescue mission. One morning in March he set out to save Desmond Dunklin, a 19-year-old who should have graduated last year from Greenville High School in Greenville, Alabama.

Commentary: Breaking the 'pipeline' to prison

One of the most dangerous threats facing black America right now is quietly stealing our children at a young age.

Emerging leaders energized in the black community

Change was being effected in the nation's black communities long before the word took center stage in the last presidential election.

Basic Training for Couples curriculum

After meeting a number black couples in crisis, Nisa Muhammad and Dr. Rozario Slack were inspired to create Basic Training for Couples.

Brooklyn teens still on mission to serve

Several of the kids who participated in "Journey for Change," a youth empowerment program founded by activist Malaak Compton-Rock, were asked to blog about their experiences last August when they traveled to South Africa. They have continued to blog about their journey and share what they've learned from their experiences after they returned home to Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Continental divide separates Africans, African-Americans

Africa is not a country, and Africans generally do not live in trees or hunt game with spears. Nor do they all walk around in the nude among lions and zebras.

Obama on slavery: 'Capacity for cruelty still exists'

President Obama slowly walked across the grounds of Cape Coast Castle, a slave outpost in Ghana where hundreds of thousands of Africans were shipped as human cargo to a life of bondage in the United States, South America and the Caribbean.

Commentary: What parents can do for their kids

Raising the quality of teaching and learning in American schools is a priority. It receives a great deal of attention in our national discourse and should receive more.

Black in America: Population, education and other statistics

Mississippi reconciliation: 2 men unite 4 generations later

The NAACP at 100: Much more work to do

As the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People prepares to celebrate its Centennial in New York, the city of its birth, I'm confident that we as a nation have turned an important corner on the long road toward racial and economic equality for all Americans.