retracing the footsteps of the tens of thousands of africans shipped and sold across the alabama river. i believe that our existence as a company is to serve as a reminder of the great potential that we have as human beings. and we can come together and that we can have a universal language. telling the story of the black experience through movement and music. the alvin ailey dance company celebrates african american culture on stage. i'm sumi somaskanda. welcome to our bbc news special celebrating black history month in the us. every february the united states pays tribute to the legacy and contributions of black americans. from the fight for voting rights to the civil rights movement, which pushed for an end to discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex or national origin. black history month in the us is a tradition that began in 1926 as a week—long celebration of black history and culture started by author and civil rights activist dr carter g woodson. 50 years later in 1976, gerald ford would become the first us president to formally recognize it as a month—long celebratio

retracing the footsteps of the tens of thousands of africans shipped and sold across the alabama riverave as human beings. and we can come together and that we can have a universal language. telling the story of the black experience through movement and music. the alvin ailey dance company celebrates african american culture on stage. i'm sumi somaskanda. welcome to our bbc news special celebrating black history month in the us.

it's on the banks of the alabama river where many people, enslaved people are trafficked.ple understand the human component of this history, and it will feature something that we are calling the national monument to freedom, which will be the first comprehensive mining into enslaved people in the united states, we will name all of the 4 million people who were emancipated after the civil war at this monument, and i'm really excited to share it with the world stop at that is remarkable, brian and i want to come back to something that you just touched on, because i saw the equal justice that you just touched on, because i saw the equaljustice initiative, the organisation said it's our response to the absence of authentic historically significant places in america that explore the institution of slavery, the lives of enslaved people and the legacy of slavery. why do you think there is that absence on a national level? ijust don't think we've had the capacity or taken the time to really reckon with this history. if you go to south africa, you will see an apartheid museum that

so this in the southeast corner of alabama on the chattahoochee river bordering georgia and it's the southern tip of what's called the creek nation in the first part of the 19th century. and what we know of andrew jackson is as the guy who won the south for dispossession for white people to dispossess land and the trail of tears pushing native americans westward, in this case, andrew jackson went in sent his marshals and his troops in to remove white settlers greek land to like complete opposite of what you might think because he signed a treaty and he felt he needed to back it up for a while. so this place born literally as this town is being burned down by federal government because it is in violation of treaty with the muskogee creek. people very contrary to what might think. so what we see is the very birth of the place fighting for its freedom just take land from the creeks and against the federal government that comes in to threaten that freedom to take land and and land are almost synonymous. the jacksonian period. so the story that we think of as sort of maybe a modern civil

the tennessee river. now the victorious confederate army was too weak really to pursue. they had lost 18,000 men at the battle of chickamauga. and so they set up a defensive line that, ran from missionary ridge, east of the across the chattanooga valley and up onto the the nose of lookout mountain, and then along the south bank of the tennessee river at the base racoon mountain. now confederate commander braxton bragg was under the impression that the union commander in chattanooga, william stark rosecrans, was whipped so badly that he was incapable of taking any offensive action. and that was an impression that was shared by the lincoln administration, not the least of which because assistant secretary of war charles dana was sending very negative reports to washington and about rosecrans frame of mind at one of his dispatches, he said that rosecrans was acting dazed and hazy rosecrans didn't his own case by sending messages to washington, for example, he said, we are about 30,000 brave and determined, b

but the southernmost part of what is now alabama, mississippi.anna, north of the mississippi river and up to baton rouge madison says so who is now president? says, oh, well, this was part of the louisiana purchase. nobody else really believes this. but madison says this is part of the louisiana purchase are taking this these local people want to be part of the united states and we're going to we're going to take them over. so it was a tough character here and he was looking towards that sort of thing. he also unleashed as the elected captain of the militia of tennessee, was state office, was electing a general of the militia, a guy named andrew jackson. yeah. who? jefferson. mr. mustard. but. and who? originally madison's administration. he wanted jackson wanted send troops down to natchez, mississippi, on the mississippi river. madison's secretary of war orders them back to tennessee, but they've had some among the indians and they say, i guess we have to send this jackson down there. and they do. and he defeats the red stick creeks at madison,

but the southernmost part of what is now alabama, mississippi. and louisa anna, north of the mississippi river and up to baton rouge madison says so who is now president? says, oh, well, this was part of the louisiana purchase. nobody else really believes this. but madison says this is part of the louisiana purchase are taking this these local people want to be part of the united states and we're going to we're going to take them over. so it was a tough character here and he was looking towards that sort of thing. he also unleashed as the elected captain of the militia of tennessee, was state office, was electing a general of the militia, a guy named andrew jackson. yeah. who? jefferson. mr. mustard. but. and who? originally madison's administration. he wanted jackson wanted send troops down to natchez, mississippi, on the mississippi river. madison's secretary of war orders them back to tennessee, but they've had some among the indians and they say, i guess we have to send this jackson down there. and they do. and he defeats the red stick creeks

but the southernmost part of what is now alabama, mississippi.isa anna, north of the mississippi river and up to baton rouge madison says so who is now president? says, oh, well, this was part of the louisiana purchase. nobody else really believes this. but madison says this is part of the louisiana purchase are taking this these local people want to be part of the united states and we're going to we're going to take them over. so it was a tough character here and he was looking towards that sort of thing. he also unleashed as the elected captain of the militia of tennessee, was state office, was electing a general of the militia, a guy named andrew jackson. yeah. who? jefferson. mr. mustard. but. and who? originally madison's administration. he wanted jackson wanted send troops down to natchez, mississippi, on the mississippi river. madison's secretary of war orders them back to tennessee, but they've had some among the indians and they say, i guess we have to send this jackson down there. and they do. and he defeats the red stick creeks at madi

the species, which is native to the rivers of south and south—east asia, is classified as criticallyhas paused ivf procedures after the supreme court in the us state ruled that frozen embryos could be legally considered children. the hospital authorities say they feel for those relying on ivf to build a family but are concerned they could be prosecuted. the court ruled last week that any human life from the moment of conception was sacred. alabama, like many southern states, outlaws all abortions without exception. david willis in los angeles gave us this. we are indeed, steve. indeed. just five days after that ruling by the alabama supreme court classifying embryos as children, the largest hospital in the state of alabama, the university of alabama hospital, has said that it is putting ivf procedures on hold for the time being whilst it evaluates the potential implications of this ruling by the alabama supreme court last week, there is concern that doctors and patients could be the subject of criminal or civil proceedings in the light of this decision by the justices, or indeed find

after a hurricane, rivers overflowed their banks, traffic on several highways was blocked, a slightlyr degree of flooding affected the neighboring states of georgia and florida, and northern states new jersey. heavy snowfall came to pennsylvania, it lasted several hours, authorities warned citizens about the possibility of delays or cancellations of flights, schools were closed in boston and a number of other cities. parades of leading samba schools took place in rio daneira as part of the annual traditional carnival. for two nights in a row , dancers from twelve major schools took to the famous brazilian sambadromo, and today the judges will announce the winners in different categories, as well as the main favorite of the year. the festival in rio is considered the largest. carnival in the world, every year up to several million tourists come to see it. you are watching the news, stay with us. there is an important event in small aviation in kamchatka; a new helicopter has been added to the fleet. the aircraft has unique flight characteristics. for its landing, no special platform is