>> ...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 bale... >> narrator: a bitterly contested election in a country on ge. >> not in my country! >> narrar: over the 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 are being taken away... >> narrator: from the earliest days of the pandemic-- the impact on health...

>> love you so muc >> it's just kind of a blur what happened after i got intubated. >> narrator: and the economy. >> we tried puing in for the small business loan, unfortunatel we weren't approved. >> we are the free people ofam ica. >> narrator: to a summer of protest-- >> as long as they catch one dirtcop at a time, i'm happy. one at a t >> narrator: the backlash-- >> (shouting) >> narrator: and ultimately, the election that roused a deeply divided nation-- and the aftermath. >> (chanting) trump 2020! trump 2020! ars honking) >> narrator: now, a frontline special presentation-- >> we nt to live! >> narrator: "american voices: a nation in turmoil". >> frontline is made possible by

contributions to your pbs station from vwers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for roblic broadcasting. major support isded by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information atnd macfrg. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on then fron of social 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, withajor support from jon an jo ann hagler. and additional support from laura debonis and ott nathan. (overlapping voices) >> how can i love america? i can't... i don't think i can

ve america, i can't put that into words. >> we don't know when it's gonna ss. >> i feel a revolution coming, it's gettingloser every day. >> i have learnt to love being alone. ♪ >> narrator: these are the voices of americans. (overlapping voices) >> people are getting angrier and angrier. >> i wanna be in charge of my own life! >> narrator: gathered from across a divided nation... r >> we're just going too opposite directions. >> just set the scene for us, how are you feeling? give us a clap, first. >> narrator: in this film, americans reflect on a year of turmoil... >> it's never gonna be the same afr 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 thing and nobody wantso die. >> we have no reason to trust the state. >> i'm not going to tolerate

somebody telling me how i need to live my life. >> narrator: a pastor, a barber, an activist, a mother, a retiree, the owners of a nail salon, and of a cstruction company, and a flower shop, a doctor, and patient. their stories begin in march 2020, as covid was spreading, and the country was shutting down. >> cdc says there are now more than 4,200 cases of coronavirus. >> in iowa, governor kim reynolds has recommended... >> mass gatherings a restricted to less than ten people... (radio fading) >> who so falleth not down and worshippeth shl the same hour be cast into the midst of a rning fiery furnace. all the people, the nations and nguages fell down and

worshipped the golden image that nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. my name is cary gordon. i'm the senior pastor of cornerstone world outreach in sioux city, iowa. how do i water baptize seone in a virtual service?e how do i bury ad? 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 ithe midst of a pandemic when i'm told that i can't have physical contact? ♪ last sunday morning, i drove past menards. menards a lumberyard,

hundreds of cars. and only a quarter mile away w church in contrast, i k is empty, because they've said, "the church is not essential." the church is not essential. in a time of crisis wi 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 coronaviruhas inflicted upon oregon's economy. 266,000 oregonians are without a job... >> unemployment at a record high in oregon... >> people are spooked because of covid. they're scared to death of this thing and nobody wants to die going out the house getting a haircut. ♪ my name is bryant moore.ba i'm a er from portland, oregon. ♪ the bills ep stacking up...

with no money coming in. scared to look at the bills from our business, 'cause i can't pa so i'lsurvive by just doing what i have to do to make it, man, you know, it's...ld if i wou go to a senior's house or go to a bus stop, i couldn't do anything else, i had to make do.vi >> so i'm a get together at my house. so i escaped, came here. i gotta get my hair done. he got to get his ney. gonna go back looking fly. >> my business is one ofgs those thhere 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 thing to do, it's human to make people feel good. >> oh, yeah, go for a queen. at part. >> 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 together. it doesn't matter what color they are. i mean, seeing it in person. >> ♪ back and forth, and in and out, and back and forth again... ♪ for we are strong people, and we will come out of this and be♪ on top again. i do believe. >> theoronavirus pandemic is putting an end to the longest economic expansion in history. >> we are going into a global recession. >> entire parts of the u.s. economy are at a complete standstill. >> people are afid to go out. people are afraid even to call and have something delivered. it's just a total different... >> half 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. do you need a receipt? >> um, sure. >> thank you so much. keep me posted on that wedding. >> i will for sure. >> all right... bye bye! >> bye! >> i've been here in this one, probably 24 years in ts one spot, so i'm kind of a staple here. but it's kind of sad to only see this many orders on my board. because normally should bebout 50 to 60 orders on my board for easter. and i have one, two, three, four, five... six.

so i better do a pray dance tonight. (chuckles) oh, i don't know. it is what it is.ha is wit is... okay, it's done. t >> which one'st? >> this is your last one to auburn. >> where's sharon's? i aven't done it yet, but it's too early to take hers. >> oh, i thought you said i was gonna >> no.now. >> i didn't see... >> my husband does my deliveries as much as he can do. we're just a twoan team just trying to survive. >> we got marrd when we were 18. we dated in high school. from the first time we met we were each other's best friends, becauserybody knows rosie. she's a pretty special woman. i personally have a problem with a masat times because of my congestive heart ure.

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 might save somebody else's life. >> governor ralph northam and his covid-19 response team...pi >> see another in cases... >> repeal the state's stay-at- home order... >> social distancing guidelines are going to be with us... so i have learnt to love beingd. alone.ha learned to be pretty darn comfortable. ♪ , oh, lochnology... just not my thing. my name is 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 would be

clearly an hour ive. >> welcome to the second baptiso chursouth richmond, a caring and sharing church bringing you the word of god >> i have enjoyed the comfort of waking up and listening tot online. >> we're now goi to have a virtual peter verse selection from the mass choir... >> i miss the environment of the building. but that is what it is, a building, because the , we are the church. the physical human beie the church. >> what's going on in the white hous or the state house, or the mayor's house ofttimes is notased on... >> i've still helped 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.am >> our seniors, because of covid-19, should not be out and about... >> that's right. at's part of what god wants

you to do, you know. just help people. ♪ for all youe done ♪ for me this is the part that's scary. too comfortable being at homeng watching the service. ♪ they all belo to you ♪ thank you, jesus ♪ for blessing me >> president trump appears to be stoking unrest in states around the u.s... >> where long-term damage om a shuttered economy... >> signs urging leaders to re-open utah. >> y can't do one size fits all.ve you can't shutbody 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 just think of finances as aes whole of society, but instead i see my brother, whose business was going down. that trigged the stress, which triggered his health issues, which triggered his mental health issues, ande was gone in 60 days. three years ago, he his life. this is my brother, brian. yeah. (sighs) i wanted to save other families through.ng through what we wen (voice cracking): sorry. so that's why i became so passionate about not shutting things down, letting people choose. sh >> are wp or are we people? >> people! >> let's go to work! >> that doesn't mean that we don't believe there are people at extra risk, or that we don't love them or accept thei concerns. i'm like, mine says, my... our definition, oh, "your definition of essential is not the same as

mine." y so, i'm like, they realle missing out on the hardworking peopleho can't earn money for their family, like... i think the rate of suicide is going to go way higher.wa you takepeople'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.he what abouteople who don't? it's heartbreaking. >> small business is the lifeblood this country, and we cannot kill it any longer. we are open for business today! i'm really happy t herely, so with all of you guys, all of yor pats, all of you activists! >> i really hope people will let go of what we're stuck in, what we're stressed out about right now, and take into consideration the long-term impact of what's goi on. >> ♪ god bless america my home sweet home ♪

(cheers and applause) >> mr. trump is now insisting the states have step up tir testing. >> fewer than than one percent of all texans have been tested... >> testing will be a big factor in making sure texans are healthy enough to fully reopen the economy.le >>ly, we're in the middle of a pandemic, and we're suffering much worse than we would have had we had a competent, science-based heaof my name is dr. chrne edyam mann, i family practice doctor in cedar park. when the covid-19 pandemic started, we were left without any guidance. individual clinics like mine, doctors like me, weren't really given any information about how to mage the pandemic, and so we kind of all had to make it up on the fly.

we didn't know the processes that we needed to use to be able to manage patients as they neme in. it takes betweennd three days to get a result. sorry... (patient coughing) >> i'm one of thcovid-19 testers at my workplace.de this is 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 nddidn'tave test kits, a v it wasy stressful. (indistinct chatter)it and months and months.ths ♪ deaths in the united states has now reached a stunning 50,000. >> had at least one underlyi health issue... >> a new effort to keep chicagoans safe during themi coivd-19 pan.. >> in early april was when i stted feeling lightheaded, dizzy, um... i was coughing. lost my sense of taste and smell.

condition, i thought mylying syt.toms were related to tha >> you're wearing yourk wrong. you have to cover your nose. my name is mayra ramirez. i am 28 years old. (chuckling) onday i woke up, i was soju weak, i fell over. (breathing deeply and rapidly) everything was, like, dark. and i remember calling out for my boyfriend, i was like, "george, george," like, and would, like, run and, like, help me, and i was like, "okay, i really need to go to theergen" they, like, immediately, like, put me in a room, didn't en ask me my name or anything. (medicalquipment beeping) i remember a doctor came in and told me that, "we're pretty sure we're gonna have to intubate you, do you hav someone that can make medical decisions for you?" then, um... it's just kind of a blur, what happened after i got

intubated. ♪ >> the day they told us thatwa mayra, um, iher last day, we're all on the trampoline, just... my mom was crying, um, my sisters, all my aunts were t thery were crying. they didn't know what to do. and we were just plannin um, to go pick up a corpse.yi i was trng to avoid it. >> i love you so much. >> uh-oh (chuckles). >> medical people are wonderful but they're not omnt.s. and they make mistakes and theyo contradict oneer. everyone's going to die at some point. as a christianwe believe that

we're set free from the fear of death. >> do you have any h sanitizer? >> we do. >> we're spiritual beings and we require fellowshi >> it's a beautiful day! >> i know, it's gorgeous! >> if it's okay to take a risk and go to stores, i think it's okay to take a risk and go to church. >> 99.6. >> phew! >> try to keep families together! (people atting) >> welcome back into the church building! (cheers and applause) (chuckles) whoo-hoo! (cheers and applause) praise the lord!g we're go teach you a new song this morning as we re-enter the church, you can stand with us. ♪ ♪ oh, cist be magnified ♪ just let his prayers arise ♪ christ be magnified in me

hallelujah! i said halleluja (overlapping chatter) >>he attempted arrest was caught on camera. the video 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 video saying, "please, please, i can't breathe" as a minneapolis police officer... >> we're just like, man, this is crazy... we're alread fighting a common terror, which is covid, and now this now? you know, peop pissed off, like, this is just ridiculous-- how can you kill this man? >> no juste, no peace, prosecute the police! >> the outrage began with ash video ing an officer kneeling on floyd's neck. >> many people have gathered in front the third precinct... >> sitting here in front of officers who are complicit in the murder of george floyd. >> thoands packed the area... >> protesting the death of george floyd.

>> how many times have we watched police officers murder people?in (crowd reactg) >> you're numb to it aer 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,at ust happened right here on 38th. neighborhood was what really my pulled me into it. (overlapping chatt) people are getting angrier, and angrier, and angrier, and then hold up... we have a whole bunch of police with helmets right in front of. us (glass shattering) >> crowdof protestors facing off with officers in riot gear. (explosions boom) (woman screaming) ( >>anting): i can't breathe! >> protests turned violent last night.ve >> oight protests left parts of downtown in ruins >> multiple fires were set,as windows d, and stores looted.

>> as far as volunteering efforts go, so far you're our go-to volunteer coordinator right? >> yeah. >> so we really have to get her engaged with... >> them. >> the my name is tayo daniel. i'm from south minneapolis, minnesota, co founder of 10k. you know, we were listening to thnews, and the narrative that they're spreading w like, "oh these looters and rioters,nn people from mipolis, just burning down their own city" and all that kind of stuff, and i i was like, man... i'm from here and i know everybody that lives here, we're not like thatt so af guys from the neighborhood decided to get together and create the 10k foundaon. and we want to show that we can have a peaceful protest. >> 10k is about, it's about mobilizing 10,000 people and the power in that, the sovereignty in being able to mobiliz10,000 people. in the twin cities.grew up here i was an athlete. i was drted to the nba back in 2013, and had a huge fight

with the nba regarding mental health policy. you know, when all the protests broke out, my first thought was, i'm headed down there. i'm not gonna claim to have a crystal ball ato what's gonna happen, i reale no clue. i'm just going off of pure opinion. o the foicers were arrested and, temporarily, that's enough justice until we wt and see what happens with the court process. i know pple are still very unhappy, they're not in the uproar that they were in, obviously, when e city was burning down or even a few days ago when we marched. ever day we get away 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) n

>> the reay 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 th my ancestors with the same color skin of mine were not independent.ha they were ins, 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 time is 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) >> look, we did our besto think through how the protests covid-19 transmission.sk for but, at the end of the day, there's no way that we could allow the state to tell us,

"hey, we're going to kill black men out on the streets, andn also, stayur house because we also... you know, because of covid-19." ♪ if you think about the historical context of black men, black people in this country in general, weno reason to trust the state. in general, en we wake up in the morning, there's no good reason for us to have any faith in the state. and maybe in times wre there needs to be a trust, it falls through. yeah, maybe black people should have more trust in the state i whcomes to covid-19, but it's a tough sell. >> the reason why we're doing this silent march isecause when you take a moment of silence, you're taking a moment of silence for the dead. for the eric garners, for the breonna taylors, for the george flds. >> hey, it is what it is, this is a war. this is a war. and so the only other option is to, you know, board up in your house and wait for e next george floyd to be murdered.

i mean, that's just the reity. (light chatter, shuffling) >> protestors have been on the streets of richmond for several wew. >> the one-time capital of the confederacy is in the throes of change as statues commemorating confederate leaders come down... >> am grateful to this generation of black youth and white youth that are not rioting, they're prosting, and they're smart, and they're doing it right. i'm going in from over here... i cided one sunday, i said you know what, i'm stepping out on faith, i'm going down to seet whats it's about. >> black lives matter! ew i kept seeing it on the and i just 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 ayo body body will die... >> understand, i'm 63, i'm deadly afraid of covid, but it's worth it to come out and show my support.iv >> black l matter, may allatterl lives matter, i'mma stand for something. >> i met some terrific people, had great conversations with people. (laughter) the diversity is what makes me feel good about it. the black and the whites are coming out here. dirty cop at a tim dirtyh one racist, dirty politician, dirty lawyer-- i'm happy, one at a time. 'cause this is 400 years of this (bleep). (overlapping voices)ou >> we are here to end systematic racism. we're out here to defund the police. the closest town was bowling green. therwere some whites that we talked with, but i didn't playas

with any, ito white kids up the streethat i played with or anything, thedidn't do... we didn't do that in my era. (drumming, laughter) child. where i grew up as a yeah. i'm at the monument right now as we speak having big fun, man. (fireworks crackling, whistling) each experience i had out here has been different. >> we will neverllow an angry mob to tear down our statues or erase our history. >> iome early 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 in . (crowd shouting) and i just begged them to allow me to go to my carnd leave. i just wanna ghome, please. i justanna go home. my car's (indistinct)... i can't get er 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. you can go wait in yr. >> and they were very kind. they even helped me get out and i was gone. , white people, that i have known foars are ry decent 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 esreets... >> a peaceful prin virginia also turned violent on saturday night.op in richmond marched... >> i don't think our country could be any more divided than are right now. the country is, is horribly divided right noand, and more divided th 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 busess owner. i own a construction company. m huge rights activist. i believe in our constitution. i believe in the way our constitution was intended to be read and not interpreted. if anybody had told us this was gonna ended up happening, nobody would have believed it. no. >> like i say, racism is oute. th that's what it is. (bleep), i got more black

imagine.than i c i got one black friend and i specifically tell people that that's my brother. (both laughing and we talk about it all the time. it's ridiculous, man. this are just out just to wreck stuff. >> my same buddy that i call my he said, "man, it's crazy," because they sayt's a black lives matter thing, but yet they're going in and destroying old black people's businesses ond. >> yeah. >> you know what i mean? >> i don't know how everything got so race-oriented all of a sudden here within the pastye , honestly. um... that, that kind of blows ♪ mind. so as far as the platform or the use that the black lives matter rallies are for, i think raising awareness for police brutity, sure. if you want to focus on any aspect of it that could have a insitive effect on the american people, you coulup that one aspect of it. but it doesn't just happen to

folks, happens to asian fos.e it happens across all walks of life, no matter what color you are, no matter what race you are. >> are we mping? w 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 topping 104,0, the most in any country... >> right now we have a situation where black americans die out of parameter that you can think of. >> all lives do matter but they won't until black lives matter first. (crowd cheering, applauding) sometimes when you have specific type of community, that's hurti is okay to

focus on them for a little while until thingset better. and then when they do get better, then all lives will matter. (cheers and applause)n >> we george floyd murr occurred, it was in the middle of this pandemic. and so, for me as a healthcare was my responsibil nott that it expose myself to the potential for getting the disease and s.spreading on to my patie (crowd chanting) nyt i was happy that so ma people were coming out of their homes and out of their workplaces to be involin those protests. >> black lives matter! >> we were there, you know, init in solid 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 out of proportion to every other category of american. >> black lives matter! >> black lives matter! >> protests turned v after demonstrators clashed with oakland police officers. there is signifint property damage to businesses in the downtown area of oakland after these protests st night. >> my understanding is it's actually a good movement, in myb opinio there's just a bunch of other protesters, a small percentage of at 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, justg buy a shop and start a business. ♪ >> we've been open for about three years, and so far, everything's gre. besides this, of course. the pandemic has taken a huge toll. we're just trying to get by doing whatever we can toiv su ♪ then now when we have this going on, which made it even worse. it's mainly just for insurance purposes. if it did get vandalized orno looted it's t fair for someone like me who's trying to make this community better. t and neng 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 wrw. there's nothing ong with protesting.t you can protl yo we live in america. but when you start vandalizing small businesses, th part is wrong. (overlapping voices) >> now amidst of all this chaos and turmoil in the country rht now, it could be easy to forget that we are still in a pandemic. e >>f the first known american covid-19 survivors toce e a double lung transplant is now recovering. 28-year-old mayra ramirez received a lung transplantt northwestern medicine in chicago. >> when i first woke u 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 was intubated and sedatesix weeks. (shouting, explosion, sparks) the tv would be on and, yo know, they would talk about all these riots that were happening orge floyd, and protest. i was like, "can i just go back to being sedated? like can i wake up when this is over?" the world was so ugly. literally, cities are burning. i, i just couldn't take it. >> the radical dems are shing c many left-wing activists and anarchists as th into the streets of america. t i understa president is on the phone now. >> well maybe the point of great success, you know... >> my feelings with the black lives matter is all lives matter. not just black, not pink, white or purple.it not just one race.

i think it's wrong, 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. d helped run the undergro railroad. he was ambushed by white people who felt the slaves should stay slaves. so, you know, wh they sit there and say every white person is racist or bad, i'm not racist. i'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... >> people told me that these protests hadecome about more than george floyd. that they're about this long history of police brutality. >> all you have to do is look at history. if you flip the pages back from history, it speaks for itself.

>> there is another vigil for geor floyd that is getting underway right now at peninsula park. >> i keep seeing african american people get killed by cops allcross the nation... (crowd chanting)hi ...and not's happening. >> no peace! st>> you look at american y and it's ugly. (cheers and applause) people are hurt, people are tired of... they're tired of being tid. >> they're sworn to protect this country... >> when i look at history, we prest. thing changed. we protest now. nothing's really changing. and that's hurtful. >> from day one, america has been based off of the subjugation of black and indigenous people. (cheers and applause) >> yes! yes! speak it, sister how can i love america? i can't-- i n'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 power! black power! >> black power! >> black power! >> power 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 surfacin 2020. now where do we go from here? you need to get off your damn phones and recording (bleep) and (bleep) start getting active! (cheers and applause) >> millions of people all across america are casting their votes on who they want to lead thexty. >> it has been a campaign year unlike any other and now 100 million people have voted already.d >> recbreaking early voting continues. massive early vote total includes more an seven 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 republican,

i en't care if you're in th middle. there's so much hate. i hope president trump wins. vice president biden, i feel, is-- and i hate to say the age thing, because he's probably my age maybe. oh my he is... i don't know how old he is. um... i think he's too old. i think he's too feeble in his mi. i just wish it was over. yay! (chuckling) e illinois election officials reporting seeingly voting numbers they 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 mrdest. >> you're here to vote? >> mm-hmm. >> okay, so you're going to go through the revolving doors. vo >> i going anywhere. so i requested the mail-in ball, but it never arrived. hi. um... mayra ramirez. i saw one person who like didn'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 rorm. i think th is the first time that during an election that we've actually expected like riots and violence and protests. regardless of how the sults go, i think we're all still expecting it. ♪ >> so far this election is on track to set a record. >>alifornia's top election official assuring folks there are safe ways to vote during a pandemic. all ballots will be... >> all right, everything's...

>> did i put my name here? n >> you gotta sign... well i got no pen. now we gta walk back out again. you have a pen? you gotta put your address... it literally ss on the top it's gonna invalidate it if you don't sign it. >> whoa! >> um, i would rather not say who i voted for. i just want everythi to come back to normal. that's all. that's all i'm praying for really. people will be surprised, but i don't want to say who i voted for. >> i just vote for myself or i vote for the lady! no, i vote for the lady! >> you voted for that lady. >> i don't know who she is, but it seem like she's the only lady, so i vote for the lady. ♪ i vote for the woman! >>oell, you have a right to that. >> it's been a whice i voted,ou know, due to my situation. i'm here at the pollinstation. i'm here with my dad-- the o.g.

i made a lot of bad decisions en i was younger. getting in fights, had an assault charge, things like. that trying to do the right thing. n ever too late to do the right thing. at's for sure. i've made a 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 alloweto vote or can't vote so it's important that the people who have the privilege of voting take that step and make that initiative. >> 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 locations. >> gonna have to p this on now. you're supposed to find people that represent you, donald trump cannot rresent me, he does not represent 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 good tonight. because someday, as a christian, i believe christ will return and all wrongs will be righted and justice will prevail. and my job is to keep speaking the truth as a minister. >> big race, big electoral vo fight tonight, too early to call. >> we will be getting somell results, actwe think, this hour from kentucky from indiana, all the poles not closed.. >> i'm equally excited and nervous. i've been thinking about how four years ago, i didn't think i was going to make it four years. joe biden was not my first choice. my first choice was kamalawh harristhankfully is the vice presidential candidate, soon to be vice esident. >> in the commonwealth of massachusetts... >> yay! m joe biden wisachusetts! >> ...joe biden the projected 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.w i think thre going to have a good win tonight. >> we are still in the thick of very heated contest. >> it is closer than thent democrats wa it to be. it is closer than any democrat is comfortable with right now. we'll have to wait and see how that comes in. >> i anticipate some very unea people on either or both sides angry about not getting their way. (nearby drumming) whoever wins, which i hope it is not trump, we shouldome together. (cwd singing indistinctly) this week i felt kind of like a sigh of relief, like i was feeling, like, things are changing, things are shting in, in a different direction. (crowd singing indistinctly)

you know, it was, it was an invigoting space to see a lot look like me, but wanted thely same types of things that i want in america. >> vice president joe biden wiln win pennsy and nevada, putting him over the 270... >> across the country, pro-trump protesters gathering at state capitols, echoing the president that the election was stolen. (engine revving, crowd cheering) >> because i was really just so sick of politics i wanted to write in jesus. (laughs) but that doesn't do anything. so, i was surprised, i felt prompted to vote for trump. >> we are very much in a spiritual battle right now. we are invoking christ, because christ is the wa and christ is the only way that we're going to triumph over evil. (cheers 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 taking society in a completely different direction. >> stand by and stand down. no, we're not standing down. d.'re here, we're goa st we're gonna stand fast. we're gonna wait for orders. cheers and celebrations in the streets of minneapolis. >> celebrations by joe biden supporters have been going onal day, including here in the metro. (horns honking) >> hey! i'm just excited that overall that more ople got 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 g at joe bidenok like, "okay, you were talking that talk, now are you gonna walk the walk?" what do you guys think of the election? >> oh yeah! >> we're good. >> i was relieved to the point where it's like,okay, this step has been handled. now, what's the next step?" you know, it's not or, this is just the beginning. (car horns honking)

that's just one man. the president doesn't make the world a better place, the people make the world a better place. the people living int. (car horns honking) >> so let's talk about what exactly happened and what this vote says about the country. joe biden got a record number of votes. >> we have half a nation thatwe believes thaad an unfair election. we have another half of the nation that thinks everything is just great, wondful. i hope it's wrong, but i see too many comments by too many people. i feel a revolution coming. it's gettingloser every day. somebody is going to be dumb enough to fire the first shot. and we're gonna have some serious problems. i pe i'm wrong. >> i hope you're wrong too. >> and i hope i'm not here to see it. ♪ >> i'm ready for you... >> okay, i'll beight there. i think the immediate future 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 doing and living our normal lives." all righ this is a nasal swab. both sides of your nose. election getting called is the end of the work that needs to be done is mistaken. 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 voting for the lesser of two evils. you know, voting democrat because it's not trump. or votinrepublican because it's not biden.ly wouldn't've reattered who got in office, i feel like they're one in the same. i think our cuure is going to stay divided.

the dision that has been created here recently is, is someing that we've 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 oin the end, or how it's going to be spun, but i hink our culture in a who gone down a deep, deep, dark hole. ♪ >>hoo-hoo! president biden! yay! that was for you. we have a president. ♪ let there be peace on earth and let it beginith me. ♪ he can't fix this mess overnight. you can't fix it in a week, a month, but it's over.ss thank good, it's over. ♪ let peace begin with me

let this be the moment now. ♪ but now we worry about what's going to happen next. let there be peace. (crickets chirping) >> go to pbs.org/frontline for an interview with the ke film about how they found and followed their subjects. got so race oriented all of ag sudden. >> it's always been here. now it's to the surface in 2020. now where do we go from re? >> and learn more about the communities covered in the film conn the frontline community on facebook and twitter, and stream anytime on the pbs video app or pbs.org/frontline. >> she is a woman ofnyielding loyalty to the constitution. >> ...likely swing the eological balance sharply to the right. >> narrator: a supreme court takeover 30 years in the making. >>hen bork got taken down,

they promised never toorgive. >> it was raw politics, and it was war. >> mitch mcconnell 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 contribuons to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcaing. major support is proded by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committedn to buia more jt, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfoundrg. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. at fordfoundation.org. additional support is provided by the abrams fountion, committed to excellence in journalism.nd the park fion, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues.

and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support 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 >> for more on this and other "frontline" programs, visit our website at pbs.org/frontline. ♪ frontline's, "american voices: a nation in turmoil" is available on amazon prime video.

♪ >> you're watching pbs. >> ...continues to grapple with the impact of the ongoing pandemic... >> narrator: the truth is rarely black and white. >> ...protesters versus frontline workers... >> ...filled with so much uncertainty... >> narrator: but if we ask the hard questions... tops 200 thousand...the u.s. >> narrator: check thee acts. >> ...ternet is disrupting... >> ... amazon taking over the world a good thing?" >> narrator: dig a little deeper. >> boom! >> narrator: and take a breath... the truth is closer than you

kenneth stroupe: the american system of democracy

is still very much an experimen d jamelle bouiocracy has been somewhat discredited. ted cruz: that system, it is the most successful democratic system the world ha i think, ever seen. ian bremmer: i experienced the american dream. th te's no other country world that i could create from nothing where i am today. jalane schmidt: this isn't the land of the free. that hasn't been the experience of many people. [explosions] tim kaine: there is an existential threat in the world right now. chris sabatini: we're facing one of the great ide.logical battles of our t michael abmowitz: global democracy really depends on a strong american democracy.n stevitsky: the way that democracies die today is not the way it died 50 or 60 years ago. a we usually think iolent takeover today, the dominant way in which democracies die is much more subtle. derek mitchell: really, populists rise to power through election. [crowd cheering]