From Susan Taylor, former editor-in-chief at Essence, to Academy Award nominee Gabourey Sidibe, 29 trailblazers - actors, journalists, musicians, writers - share their own stories in their own voices.

Following the Civil War, all-Black towns emerged in what is now modern-day Oklahoma. Initially founded in an effort to convince the U.S. to create an all-Black state, only a few towns cling heroically to life. STRUGGLE & HOPE gives voice to the stories of the last remaining residents, while charting their fight to ensure their towns retain independence, character and hope for a better future.