In early February 1968, racial tensions were inflaming the nation and a divisive election was underway. America was exploding politically and culturally, much like today.

That week, trailblazing entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte took over the Tonight Show for an unprecedented week. Harry featured a stunning combination of guests, including Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, Lena Horne, Paul Newman, Wilt Chamberlain, Aretha Franklin, and Bill Cosby.

And this week was almost lost to history.

“The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte’s Tonight Show” tells this story through contemporary interviews with Belafonte, Whoopi Goldberg, Questlove and many others. The interviews with Dr. King and Robert F. Kennedy are among their last television appearances before both were assassinated.

“The Sit-In” also unearths unknown audio and photos of this week and illuminates how the week changed television culture, opening it up to entertainers of color, and fusing art and politics in a singular way.

Directed by Yoruba Richen