>> ...the new president-elect joe biden faces... >> ...america has decided to go another way... >> ...trump campaign is saying hold on we're fighting the legal battle... >> narrator: a bitterly contested election in a country on edge. >> not in my country! ve >> narrator: othe past year, a team of filmmakers across the united states has been documenting the hopes and fears of americans. >> (chanting) >> ...keep going... >> ...engage... >> their right aaw being taken ay... >> narrator: from the earliest

days of the pandemic-- the impact on health... >> i love you so much. >> it's just kind of a blur what happened after i got intubated. >> narrator: and the economy. >> we tried putting the small business loan, unfortunately, we weren't approved. >> we are the free people of america. >> narrar: to a summer of protest-- >> as long as they catch one dirty cop time, i'm happy. one at a t >> narrar: the backlash-- >> (shouting) >> narrator: and ultimately, th election that roused a deeply divided nation--rm and the afteh. >> (chanting) trump 2020! trump 2020! (cars honking) narrator: now, a frontline special presentation-- >> we want to live! >> narrator: "american voices: a nation in turmoil".

>> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting.ma r support is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. ate informati macfound.org. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. at fordfoundation.org. additional support is provided the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism. the park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. and by the frontline journalism fund,po with major s from jon and jo ann hagler. and additional support from laura debonis and scott nathan. (overlapping voices)

>> how can i love america? i can't... i don't think i can into words.a, i can't put that >> we don't know when it's gonna pass. >> ieel a revolution coming, it's getting closer every day. nt >> i have leo love being alone. ♪ >> narrator: these are the voices of americans. (overlapping voices) >> people are getting angrieran angrier. >> i wanna be in charge of my own life! >> narrator: gathered from across a divided nation... >> we're just going too far inte oppoirections. >> just set the scene for us, how e you feeling? give us a clap, first. >> narrator: in this film, americans reflect on a year of a rmoil... >> it's never go the same after this. >> i wish there wasn't as much hate in this world as what we have. (riot guns) >> we're scared to death of this the.g and nobody wants to di >> we have no reason to trust

the state. >> i'm not going to tolerate mebody telling me how i need toive my life. >> narrator: a pastor, a barbers an act a mother, a retiree, thewners of a nail salon, andio of a construcompany, and a flower shop, a doctor, and patient. their stories begin in march 2020, as covid was spreading,d anthe country was shutting down. >> cdc says there are now more than 4,200 cases of coronavirus. >> in iowa, governor kimds reynas recommended... >> mass gatherings are restricted to less than ten people... (radio fading) >> who so falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. all the people, the nations and

the languages fell down and worshipped the golden image that nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. rd my name is cary . i'm the senior pastor of cornerstone world outreach in sioux city, iowa how do i water baptize someone in a virtual service? how do i bury the dead? how do i have a wedding? how are people have me lay my hands upon them and anoint them with oil and pray over them to be healed in the midst of a pandemic when i'mld hat i can't have physical contact? ♪ last sunday morning, i drove past menards.

menards is a lumberyard, hundreds of cars. and only a quarter mile away my church in contrast, i know is empty, because they've said, "the church is not essential." e church is not essential. in a time of crisis with imminent death and a pandemic, the church is not essential, but menards can stay open, someone might need to buy a screwdriver. it's o. >> new numbers show the damage coronavirus has inicted upon oregon's economy. 266,000 oregonians are without a job... >> unemployment is at a record high in oregon...e >> peoe spooked because of covid. they're scared to death of thisn and nobody wants to die going out the house getting ♪ haircut. my name is bryant moore. i'm a barber from portland, oregon. ♪ the bills keep stacking up...

with no money coming in. sscared to look at the bi from our business, 'cause i can't pay. so i'll survive by just doing what i have to do to make it, man, you know, it's... if i would go to a senior's house or go to a bus stop, i couldn't do anything else, i had to make do. >> so i'm having a get together at my house. so i escaped, came here. i gotta get my hair done. he got to get his money.go gonnack looking fly. those things where it makes you feel good. which we really all need to be feeling good right now. (chuckles) you know? it's just a common human tng to do, it's human to make people feel good. >> oh, yeah, go for a queen.t. that par >> i'm hopeful. this may be the right thing to stop all this fighting amon

each other. you know, democrat, republican, independent, black, white, yellow, whatever. so this might be the right thing. because what i've been seeing is folks been sticking togher. it doesn't matter what color they are. i mean, seeing it in person. >> ♪ back and forth,nd in and out, and back and forth agn... ♪ for we are strong people, andw wel come out of this and be on top again. ♪ i do believe. >> the coronavirus pandemic is putting an end to the longest economic expansion in u.s. history. >> we are going into a global recession. >> entire parts of the u.s. economare at a complete standstill. people are afraid o callgo out. and have something delivered. it's just a total different... >>

alf the businesses are broke. or they're out of business. >> when i started my flower shop, i started with two used cooler boxes, and a piece of plyboard across the top of the boxes in our yard. that's how i started. doou need a receipt? >> um, sure. >> thank you so much. keep me posted on that wedding. >> i will for sure. a right... bye bye! >> bye!e >> i've been h this one, probably 24 years in this one spot, so i'm kind of a staplere . but it's kind of sad to only see this many orders on my board. becausnormally should be about 50 to 60 orders on my board for easter. and i have one, two, three, ur, five... six.

tonight.ter do a pray dance (chuckle oh, i don't know. it is what it is. is what it is... okay, it's done. >> which one's that? >> this is your last one to auburn. >> where's shan's? >> i haven't done it yet, but it's too early to take hers. >> oh, i thought you said i was gonna take iw. >> no. >> i didn'see... >> my husband does my deliveries as much as he can do. we're just a two-man team just trying to survive. >> we got married when we were 18. we dated in high school. from the first time we met weot were each her's best frien, because everybody knows rosie. she's a pretty special woman. i personally have a problem with a mask at timesecause of

my congestive heart failure. there's times i'm fighting for air. hello, delivery for pat. "but you don't want to wear a mask because it's not going to save you," well, no, it's not going to save you, but you might save somebody else's life. >> governor ralph northam and his covid-19 response team... >> see another spike in cases... >> repeal thstate's stay-at- home order... >> social distancing guidelines are going to be with us... >> my immune system is weakened. so i have learnt to love being alone. i have learned to be pretty darn comfortable. ♪ oh, lord, technology... just not my thing. my name carran lewis, i live in north chesterfield, virginia. yeah, good morning second baptist, praise the lord, everybody. i drive close to an hour from my home to church.

i got a heavy foot, but if i followed the law, it woulde clearly an hour drive. >> welcome to the second baptist church of south richmond, a caring and sharing church bringing y the word of god. >> i have enjoyed the comfort of waking uand listening to it online. >> we're now goi to have a virtual peter verse selection from t mass choir... >> i miss the environment of the building. but that is what it is, a building, because the people, were the church. the physical human beings arech the ch >> what's going on in the white house, or the state houseu or the mayor's ofttimes is not based on... >>'ve stilhelped people, even in this virus, i've picked up groceries for a couple of friends, older people that could not go out, didn't have the means to go out. and they know my number. of covid-19, shoulbe outcause and about... >> that's righ

that's part of what god wants you to do, you know. just help people. ♪ for all you've done ♪ for me this is the part that's scary. i think some people are getting too comfortable being at home watching the service. ♪ they all belong to yo ♪ thank you, jesus ♪ for blessing me >> president trump appears to be stoking unrest in states around the u.s... >> whereong-term damage from a shuttered economy... >> signs urging leaders to re-open utah... all.ou can't do one size fits u can't shut everybody in, you can't make healthy people wear masks. oh, that's looking nice. you look so happy about it. i am amy garner. and i am a mom of six kids.

okay, where did you want the bow? we say, like, economy, sometim we just think of finances as a whole of society, but instead i see my brother, whose business was going down. that triggered the stress, which triggered his healthssues, which triggered his mental health issues, and he was gone in 60 days.th e years ago, he took his life. this is my brother, brian. yeah. (sighs) i wanted to save otheries from going through what we went through. (voice cracking): sorry. so that's why i became so passionate about not shutting things down, letting peoplech se. >> are we sheep or are wele pe >> people! >> let's go toork! >> that doesn't mean that we don't believe there are ople at extra risk, or that we don't love them or accept theirer co. i'm like, mine says, my... our

definition, oh, "your definiti of essential is not the same ase ." so, i'm like, they really aremi ing out on the hardworking people who can't earn money for eir family, like... i think the rate of suicide is going to go way higher. you take away people's connections, their hobbies, their friends, their worship, their work, and everyone's gonna be depressed! and i am so blessed to have a family of children and a husband. what about the people who don't? it's heartbreaking. co small business is the lifeblood of thitry, and we cannot kill it any longer. we are open for business today! >> this is my first rally, soi' really happy to be here with all of you guys, all of you eotriots, all of you actists! >> i really hopee will let go of what we're stuck in, what we're stressed out about right now, and take intoth consideration long-term impact of what's going on. >> ♪ god ble america my home sweet home ♪

(cheers and applause) >> mr. trump is now insisting the states have step up their testing.an >> fewer than ne percent of all texans have been tested... >> testing will be a big factor in making sure texans are healthy enough to fuy reopen the economy. >> clearly, we're in the middle of a pandemic, and wre suffering much worse than we would have had we had a state.ent, science-based head of my name is dr. christine edy mann, i am a family practice doctor in cedar park. when the covid-19 pandemic started, we were lt without any guidance. individual clinics like mine, doctors like me, weren't really given any information about how to manage the pandemic, and so we kind of all

had to m up on the fly. es didn't know the process that we need to use to be able to manage patients as they came in. takes between one and three days to get a result. sorry... (patient couing) >> i'm one of thcovid-19 this is a deep nasal swab, it's very uncomfortable. pull your mask down, i think you've had this before so you know what's coming... we didn't have equipment, we didn't have test kits, and it was very stressful.ch (indistinct ter) it was just a mess for months ♪ d months and months. deaths in the unit states has now reached a stunning 50,000. >> had at ast one underlying health issue... >> a new effort to keep chicagoans safe during the coivd-19 pandemic... >> in early april was when i started feeling lightheaded, dizzy, um... i was coughing. i lost my sense of taste and

smell. because i haven underlying condition, i thought myms symptoere related to that.ou >> ye wearing your mask wrong. you have to cover your nose. my name is mayra ramirez. i am 28 years old. (chuckling) one day i woke up, i was so (breathing deeply rapidly) everything was, like, dark. and i remember calling out for my boyfriend, i was like, "george, george," like, and he would, like, run and, like, help me, and i was like, "okay, i really need to go to tergency" they, like, immediately, like, put me in a room, didn't even ask me my name or anything. (medical equipment beeping) i remember a doctor came i and told me that, "we're pretty sure we're gonna have to y intuba, do you have someone that can make medical decisions for you?" then, um... it's just kind of a

blur, what happened after i got intubated. ♪ mayra, um, it was her last day, we're all on the trampoline, just... my mom was crying, um, my sisters, all my aunts were there, they were crying. they didn't know what to do. and were just planning, um, to go pick up a corpse. i was trying to avoid it. es i love you so much. >> uh-oh (chuckl >> medical people are wonderful people, they're heroes. but they're not omniscient. and they make mistakes and they contradict one another. everyone's going to die at some

point. as a christian, we believe that we're set free from the fear of death. d you have any hand sanitizer? >> we do. >> we're spiritual beings and require fellowship. >> it's a beautiful day! >> i know, it's gorgeous! >> if it's okato take a risk and go to stores, i think it's okay to take a risk and go to church. >> 99.6. >> phew! f >> try to keilies together! (people chatting) into the church building! (cheers and applause) (chuckles)oo oo! (cheers and applause) praise the lord! we're going to teach you a new song this morninas we re-enter the church, you can stand with us. ♪ ♪ oh, christ be magnified ♪ just let his prayers arise ♪ christ be magnified in me

hallelujah! i said hallelujah! (overlapping chatter) >> the attempted arrest was caught on camera.vi tho of last night's confrontation shows a white police officer with his ee pinning down the neck... >> his name was george floyd, he's on deo saying, "please, please, i can't breathe" as a minneapolis police officer..e' >> just like, man, this is crazy... we're already fighting a common terror, which is covid, and now this now? you know, people were just pissed off, like, this is just ridiculous-- how can yl this man? >> no justice, no peace, prosecute the police! >> the outrage began with a video showing an officer kneeling on floyd's ne. >> many people have gathered in front of the third precinct... >> sitting here in fnt of officers who are complicit inrd the muer of george floyd.ke >> thousands pthe area...

>> protesting the death of george floyd. >> how many times have wed watchelice officers murder people? (crowd reacting)>> ou're numb to it after so many of them. it's been happening for so long. >> don't shoot, hand's up! >> but then it's a little different, you're like, wow, that just happened right here on 38th. the fact that it happened in my neighborhood was what really pulled me into it. (overlapping chatter) people are getting angrier, and angrie and angrier, and then hold up... we have a whole bunch of police with helmets rig in front of us. (glass shattering)te >> crowds of pstors facing off with officers in riot gear. (explosion booms) (explosions boom) (woman screaming) >> (chanting): i can't breathe!p >>rotests turned violent last night. >> overnight protests left parts of downtn in ruins >> multiple fires were set, windows smashed, and stores looted. s

>>r as volunteering efforts go, so far you're our -to volunteer coordinator right? >> yeah. >> so really have to get her engaged with... >> them. >> them. my name is tayo daniel.m om south minneapolis, minnesota, co founder of 10k. you know, we were listening to the news, and the narrative thate,hey're spreading was lik "oh these looters and rioters, people from minneapolis, just burning down their own city" and all that kind of stuff, and i i was likeman... i'm from here and know everybody that lives here, we're not like that. so a lot of guys from the neighborhood decided to get gether and create the 10 foundation. can have a peacefuotest. we >> 10k is about, it's about mobilizing 10,0 people and the power in that, the sovereignty in bei able to mobilize 10,000 people. i'm royce white, i grew up here in the twin cities. i was an athlete. he i was drafted toba back in 2013, and had a huge fight

with the n regarding mental health policy. you know, when all the broke out, my first thought was, i'm headed down there. i'm not gonna claim to have a crystal ball as to what'sa goppen, i really have no clue. i'm just going off of pure the four officers were arrested and, temporarily, that's enough justice until we wait and see what happens witthe court process. i know people are still very unhappy, they're not in the uproar that they were in, obviously, when the city was burning down or even a few days ago when we marched.ge ever day waway from it, that energy's gonna go down a little bit. i think it's spiking up in other places around the country. i want the goal of this march to be how can we re-grab some of that energy? ♪ (helicopter droning) >> the reason why we're here is

because the history has been misconstrued, because every 4th of july i used to go out and party, and i used to just... really scream independence. not realizing that my ancestors with the same color skin of mine they were in chains, they were being whipped, they were being tortured. people, the time is right now. can everybody say that one time? on the count of three say the "the timis now," one, two, three! >> the time is now! >> say it again! >> the time is now! >> louder! >> the time is now! >> the time is right now. ♪ (chains dragging) >> loo we did our best to think through how the protests would put people at risk for covid-19 transmission. but, at the end ofhe day, there's no way that we could

allow the state toell us, "hey, we're going to kill black men out on the streets, and also, stay in your housebe use we also... you know, because of covid-19." ♪ if you think about the historical context ok men, black people in this country in general, we have no in general, when wkep ine. the morning,here's no good reason for us to have any faith in the state. red maybe in times where t needs to be a trust, it falls yeah, maybe black people should have more trust in the state when it comes to covid-19, but it's a tough sell. >> the reason why we're doing is silent march is becau when you take a moment of silence, you're taking a momentn of s for the dead. for the eric garners, for the breonna taylors, for the george floyds. >> hey, it is what it is, this is a war. this is a war. and so the only other option iso, you know, board up in your house and wait for the next

george floyd to beurdered. i mean, that's just the reality. (light chatter, shuffling) >> protestors have been on the streets of richmond for several weeks now. >> the one-time capital of t confederacy is in the throes of change as statues commemorating confederate leaders come down... >> i am grateful to this generation of black youtand white youth that are not riing, they're protesting, and they're smart, and they'redo g it right. i'm going in from over here... i cided one sunday, i said you know what,'m stepping out on faith, i'm going down to see what this it's about. >> black lives matter! >> i kept seeing it on the news and i ju did not believe the way media was portraying it,

that it was that bad. >> do you understand you are a spirit being that lives in a body, your body will die... >> understand, i'm 63, i'm deadly afraid of covid, but it's worth it to come out a show my support. >> black lives matter, may allal lives matter, i'mma stand for something. >> i met some terrific people, had great conversations with people. (laughter) the diversity is what mas me feel good about it. the black and the whites are ming out here. and as long as they catch one dirty cop at a time, one dirty racist, dirty politician, dirty lawyer-- i'm happy, one at a time.'c se this is 400 years of this (bleep). (overlapping voices) >> we are out here to end syematic racism. we're out here to defund the police. i grew up in rural virginia, the closest town was bowling green. therwere some whes that we

with any, it was no white kids up the street that i played with or anything, they didn.. we didn't do that in my era. (drumming, laughter) that's where i grew up as a child. yeah i'm at the monument right now as we speak. havi big fun, man. (fireworks crackling, whistling) each experience i had out here has been different. >> we will never allowangry mob to tear down our statues or erase our history.rl >> i come and i leave before it gets too late. (crowd shouting indistinctly)

one evening i didn't understand what was happening when i saw like 14 lice cars coming up inae (cro shouting) o and i just begged them tlow ve to go to my car and lea i just wanna go home, ease.o i just wanna ghome. my car's (indistinct)... i can't get over there. >> you can go wait in your car. we'll be out of here in just a second. we'll be out of here in just a second.u n go wait in your car. >> and they were very nd. they even helped me get out and i was gone , white people, that i have known for years arec very dt people on the surface. i don't understand why they can't see what we're seeing. all i can do is just shake my head. (indistinct chatter)

>> another intense night here in the city of richmond as protestors took to the stres... >> a peaceful protest in virginia also rnediolent on saturday night. people in richmond marched...'t >> i dhink our country could be any more divided than we are right now. the country is, is horribly divided right now and, and more divided than we ever have been. and for what? for what gain? my name is mark curtis. i'm a father of four young kids. i'm also a business owner. i own a consuction company. i'm huge rights activist. i believe in our constitution. i believe in the way our constitution was intended to bei read and noterpreted. if anybody had told us this was gonna ended upappening, nobody would have believed it. no. >> like i say, racism isut there. that's what it is.

(bleep), i got more black friends than i could e imagine. i got one black friend and i specifically tell people that that's my brother. (both lahing) and we talk about it all the it's ridiculous, man. >> people that are doing all this are just out just to wreck stuff. >> my same buddy that i call my brother he said it too. he said, "man, it's crazy," because they say it's ack lives matter thing, but yet they're going in and destroying old black people's businesses ond. >> yeah. >> you know what i mea >> i don't know how everything got so race-oriented all of a sudden here within the past year, honestly. um... that, that kind of blows my mind. ♪ so as far as the platform or the cause that the black lives matter rallies are for, i think raising awaress for policee. brutality, sur if you want to focus on any aspect of it that could have a positive effect on the americanp pele, you could bring up that one aspect of it.

but it doesn't just happen to black folks, happens to white folks, happens to asian fos. it happens across all walks of life, no matter what color you are, no matter what race you are. >> are we jumping? >> we all need to work together in a common cause to defend our freedoms. not to fight against each other and empower more regulation against us. (indistinct chatter) >> two crises have converged: protests over the death of george floyd and the pandemic. the u.s. death toll now toppingm 104,000, tt in any country... >> right now we have a situation where black americans die out of proportion to any kind o parameter that you can think of. >> all lives do matter but they won't until black lives matter first. (crowd cheering, applauding) metimes when you have

specific type of community that's hurting, it is okay to fos on them for a little while until thingset better. and then when they do get better, then all lives will matter. (cheers and applause) >> when the george floyd murder occurred, it was in the middle of this pandemic. and so, for me as a healthcarepr ider, i really felt that it was my responsibility to notpo myself to the potential for getting the disease andg spread to my patients. (cro chanting) but i was happy that so many people were coming out of their homes and out of their workplaces to be involved in those protests. >> black lives matter! >> we were there, you know, in in solidarity. we have a very long history of systemic racism in this country that persists today. you have to look at the lives

that are most at risk in our country. the ones that are being lost ou of proportio every other category of american. >> black lives matter!iv >> black matter! >> protests turned violent after demonstrators clashed with oakland police officers. there is significant property damage to businesses in the downtown area of oakland after these protests last night. >> my understanding is it's actually a good movement, in m opinion, but there's just a bunch of other protesters, aal percentage of it, that are... they're giving it a bad name. ♪ my name is jason tolentino and i own a nail salon. >> well, actually, i'm the one who wanted to open a shop. my name is jamie, i'm from vietnam. >> no way! >> oh no! >> really?! it's all closed. >> i told myself before i'm 30 i will own something. so when i'm 28, just take all

the money for our wedding, just to go buy a shop and start a business. ♪ >> we've been open for about three years, and so far, everything's great. sides th, of course. the pandemic has taken a huge toll. we're just trying to get by doing whatever we can to survive. ♪ then now when we have this going on, which made it even worse. it's mainly just for iurance purposes. looted it's not fair zed or for someone like me who's trying to make this community better. and next thing you know someone just takes it away and ruins the whole business itself. there is the racism in america. and, at the moment, i think it's just getting worse.

african amerans, they just want to not be harassed by the law. there's nothing wrong with protesting. you can protest all yo we live in america. but when you start vandalizing sml businesses, that part wrong. (oveapping voices) >> now amidst of all this chaos and turmoil in the country right now, it could be easy to forgeth we are still in a pandemic. >> one of the first known9 american covidrvivors to receive a double lung transplanv is now ring. 28-year-old mayra ramirez receiv lung transplant at northwestern medicine in chicago. n >> wfirst woke up from my lung transplant, i was a vegetable, i couldn't move a finger, i couldn't, you know, i could barely wiggle my toes. i couldn't talk. i was in a lot of pain, i was uncomfortae. i was like really disoriented at

the time i felt like i had only been there for like three days or so. i didn't realize that i wastu ted and sedated for six weeks. (shouting, explosion, sparks) the tv would be on and, you know, they wouldalk about all these riots that were happening, and george floyd, and protest. i was like, "can i jusack to being sedated? like can i wake up when this is over?" the world was sogly. literally, cities are burning. i, i just couldn't take it. >> the radical dems are pushing as many left-wing activists and archists as they can into the streets of america. i understand the president is on the phone now. >> well maybe the point of great success, you kw... >> my feelings with the black lives matter is all lives matter. not just black, not pink, white or purple.

it's not just one race. i think it'srong, basically, what the officer did. i think he should pay a price for what he did. but i look back in history. i had a great-great-grandfather that helped with the slaves. he helped run the underground railroad. he was ambushed by white people who felt the slaveshould stay slaves. so, you know, when they sit there and say every white person is racist or bad, i'm not racist. i'm not bad. i'm a human being. i respect them. i expect to be respected back. >> george floyd's name is on a list now, a very long list, a centuries-old history... protests had becomt morehese than george floyd. that they're about this long history of police brutity. >> all you have to do is look at history.

if you flip the page from history, it speaks for itself. >> there is another vigil for t george floydt is getting underway right now at peninsula park. >> i keep seeing african american people get killed bys cops all acrose nation... (crowd chanting) ...and nothing's happening. >> no peace! >> you look at american histor and it'sgly. (cheers and applause) people are hurt, people tired of... they're tired of being tired. >> they're sworn to protect this country... >> when i look at history, we prest. nothing changed. we protest now. nothing's really changing. and that's hurtful. >> from day one, america h been based off of the subjugation of black and indigenous people. (cheers and applause) >> yes! yes! speak it, sister!w n i love america? i can't-- i don't think i can

love america. america hasn't loved me, that's for damn sure. >> power to the people! >> power to the people! >> power to the people! >> power to the people! >> black pow! >> black power! >> black power! >> black power!ow >> to the people! >> power to the people! >> all power to the people! >> all power to the people! the fight is real. but it's always been here. now it's to the surface in 2020o now where go from here? >> you need to get off your damr phones aording (bleep) and (bleep) start getting active! (cheers and applause) >> millions of people all across america arcasting their votes on who they want to lead they f. >> it has been a campaign year unlike any other and now 100 million people have voted already. >> record breaking early voting continues. massive early vote total includes more than sev million californians who have already returned their mail-in ballots. >> i wish there wasn't as much hate in this world as what we have. i don't care if you're a dem, i

don't care if you're republicana i don't if you're in the middle. there's so much hate. i hope president trump wins. vice president biden, i feel, h is-- ande to say the age thing, because he's probably my. age ma oh my he is... i don't know how old he is... i think he's too old. i ink he's too feeble in h mind. i just wish was over. yay! (chuling) >> illinois election officials reporting seeing early voting numbers th have not seen in prior elections. >> recovery is pretty slow and really hard.

i have someone else's lungs and be like a slap in the face if i didn't try my hardest. >> you're here to vote? >> mm-hmm. >> okay, so you're going to go through the revolving doors. >> i avoid going anywhere. so i requested the mail-in hi.lot, but it never arrived. um... mayra ramirez. i saw one person who likdidn't have their mask on properly and that upset me a little bit. my umber one topic of interest during this election is, you know, healthcare reform. i think this is the first time that during election that we've actually expected like riots and violence arotests. regardle of how the resultsgo i think we're all still expecting it. ♪ >> so far this election is on track to set a record. >> california's top election official assuring folks there are safe ways to vote during a pandemic.

all ballots will be...ht >> all reverything's... >> did i put my name here? >> no! >> you gotta sig.. well i got no pen. now we gotta walk back out you have a pen? you gotta put your address... it literally says on the top it's gonna invalidate it if you don't sign it. >> whoa! (laughing) >> um, i would rather not sayo voted for. i just want everything to come back to normal. that's all. that's all i'm praying for really. people will be surprised, but i dn't want to say who i vo for. >> i just te for myself or i vote for the lady! no, i vote for the lady! >> you voted for that lady. you don't even know her name. >> i don't know who she is, but it seem like she's the onlyfo lady, so i votthe lady. i vote for the wom >> well, you have a right to do that. ♪ >> t's been a while since i voted,ou know, due to my situation.

i'm here at the polling station. i'm here with my dad-- the o.g. i made a lot of bad decisions when i was younger. gettinin fights, had an assault charge, things like that. trying to do the right thing. it's never too late to do the right thing. that's for sure. i've made vow to myself that i'll never do nothing illegal again. you know, i'll never go to jail again. i need to register. so i just felt privileged to be able to get out and vote. there are a lot of people that are not allowed to vote or can't vote so it's important that the people who have the privilege of voting take that step and make that initiate. >> the polls in iowa are open until 9:00 tonight for anyone who chooses to vote in person. across the state there are about 1,200 lotions. >> gonna have to put ts on now. you're supposed to find ople that represent you, donald trumt cannot represee, he does not represt my beliefs. of course, i can't vote for joe biden for the very same reason. >> thank you for voting. (indistinct chatter)

>> i will sleep od tonight. because someday, as a christiani i believe chst will return and edall wrongs will be rightnd justice will prevail. and my job is to keep speakingas the trut minister. >> ig race, big electoral vote fight tonight, too early to call. results, actually we think, this hour from kentucky from indiana, all the poles not closed... >> i'm equally excited and nervous. i've been thinking abo how four years ago, i didn't think i was going to make it four yearso biden was not my first choice. my first choice was kamala harris, who thankfully is the viceresidential candidate, soon to be vice esident. massachusetts...wealth of >> yay! joe biden wins massachusetts! >> ...joe biden the projecte winner tonight. >> my gut is telling me biden's gonna win. but i'm so nervous about the

possibility of a contested election. but i think that it's unlikely. i think that we're going to have a good win tonight. >> we are still in the thick of a very heated contest. >> it is closer than the democrats wanted it to be. it is closer than any democrat is comfortable with right now. we'll have to wait and s how that comes in. >> i anticipate some very uneasy people on either or both sides angry out not getting their way. (nearby drumming) whoever wi, which i hope it is not trump, we shouldome together. s (crowdging indistinctly) this week i felt kind of like a sigh of relief, like i was feeling, like, things are changing, things are i shifting ia different direction. (crowd singing indistinctly)

you know, it was, it was an e invigorating space to selot of people that not necessarily look like me, but wanted the same types of things that i want in america >> vice president joe biden will win pennsylvania and nevada, putting him over the 270... >> across the country, pro-trumt ters gathering at state capitols, echoing the president that the election was stolen. (engine revving, crowdheering)l) (tires s >> because i was really just so sick of politics i wanted to write in jesus. (laughs) .t that doesn't do anythi so, i was surprised, i felt prompted to vote f trump. >> we are very much in a spiritual battle right now. we are invoking christ, because christ is the way, and christ is the only way that we're going to triumph over evil. ers and applause)

>> i really hope representatives will be the voice of the people, and that there will be a middle ground. biden probably can't accomplish everything he wants, but a part of me fes devastated because i feel like it's takinsociety in a completely different directio >> stand by and stand down. no, we're not standing down. we're here, we're gonna stand. we're gonna stand fast.e wenna wait for orders. >> cheers and celebrations >> celebrations by joe bidens. supporters have been going on all day, including here in the metro. (horns honking) >> hey! gm just excited that overall that more people involved in the voting process. because that way we're going to be able to hold these elected officials more accountable. (car hor honking) so i think a lot of people are going to be looking atiden like, "okay, you were talking that talk, now are you gna walk the walk?" thwhat do you guys think o election? >> oh yeah! >> we're good. >> i was relieved to the point where it's like, "okay step has been handled. now, what's the next step?" you know, it's not over, this is

just the beginning. (car horns honking) that's just one man. the president doesn't make the world a beer place, the people make the world a better place. e people living in it. (car horns honking) >> so let's talk about what exactly happened a what this vote says about the country. joe biden got a record number of votes. >> we have half a nation that believes that we had an unfair election. we have another half of theon nati that thinks everything is just great, wonderful. i hope it's wrong, but i see too many comments by too many people. it's getting closey day.ng. somebody is going toe dumb enough to fire the first shot. and we're gonna have some serious problems. w i hope ing. >> i hope you're wrong too. >> and i hope i'm not here to see it. ♪ >> i'm ready for you... he>> okay, i'll be right t. i think the immediate future holds turmoil and fear and

concern about where we go next. we are ready to do some covid testing now. i actually fear that people are going to say, "whew, joe biden won, we're done, we can go back to doing and living our normal aves." all right, this asal swab. both sides of your nose. anyone who thinks that the election getting called is the end of the work that needs to be done imistaken. and we'll have results for you within 24 hours. ♪ ♪ >> i have no regrets about voting for the libertarian candidate. i'm tired of people voor the lesser of two evils. you ow, voting democrat because it's not trump. or voting republican because it's not biden. wouldn't've really mattered who got in office, i feel like they're one in the same.

i thinour culture is going to stay divided.t the division ts been created here recently is, is w something thve regressed to. that's going to take generations to recover. i think our culture is going to be horribly scarred by this. and i don't know what it's going to be blamed on in the end, or how it's going to bepun, but i think our culture in a whole has hole.down a deep, deep, dark ♪ >> whoo-ho president biden! yay! that was for you. we have a president. ♪ let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. ♪ he can't fix this mess overnight.x you can't in a week, a month, but it's over. thank goodness, it's over.et

♪eace begin with me let this be the moment now. ♪ but now we worry about what's going to happen next. let there be peace.ri ets chirping) >> go to pbs.org/frontline for an intervi with the filmmakers about how they found and followed their subjects. >> i don't knohow everything got so race oriented all of a sudden.t' >>always been here. now it's to the surface in 2020. now whe do we go from here? >> and learn more about the communities covered in the film. connect to the frontline community on facebook and twitter, and stream anytime on the pbs video app or pbs.org/frontline. s st is a woman of unyielding >> ...likely swinghen. eological balance sharply to the right. >> narrator: a supreme court er takeov 30 years in the making. g

>> when borkot taken down, they promised never to forgive. >> it was raw potics, and it was war. >> mitch mccnell is a tactical genius. >> i will be mindful of who came before me... >> she could be on the u.s. supreme court for 30 maybe even 40 years. >> we're living in the era of the mcconnell court now. >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. tjor support is provided john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more jt, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on thei frontlines of change worldwide. at fordfoundation.org. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism. the park foundation,

dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. and by the frontline journalism fund, with major suprt from jon and jo ann hagler. and additional support from laura debonis and scott nath. captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org s >> for more on td other "frontline" programs, visit our website at pbs.org/frontline. ♪ frontline's, "american voices: a nation in i turmoiavailable on amazon prime video.

♪ >> you're watching pbs. >> ...continues to grapple with the impact of the ongoing pandemic... >> narrator: the truth is rarely >> ...protesters vers frontline workers... >> ...filled with so much uncertainty... >> narrator: but if we ask the hard questions... >> ...death toll ithe u.s. tops 200 thousand... >> narrator: check the facts. >> ...the internet is disrupting...ma >> ...is an taking over the world a good thing?" narrator: dig a little deeper. t boom! >> narrator: ande a breath... the truth is closer an you

two other single moms. >> gabby: we're gonna interview strong single moms that have faced the same obstacles. >> sarah: how do i survive? how do iet these kids food? i knew i could just let it bury me and that moment was like you better figure this out. >> kiera: i want my kids to see that mom is becoming a better person. m.mom's becoming a better >> amy: what's the legacy you're gonna leave your kids? what do you want them to remember you by? >> speaker: roadtrip nation is made possible by ecmc foundation, a los angeles based nationally focused philanthropic organization. ecmc foundation's mission is to inspire and facilitate improvements that affect educational outcomes. especially among underserved populations, through evidence based innovation. learbout ecmc foundation by visiting ecmcfoundation.org.