When We Rise
When We Rise

When We Rise (2017)

6.21 seasonsDrama

The personal and political struggles, setbacks and triumphs of a diverse family of LGBT men and women who helped pioneer one of the last legs of the U.S. Civil Rights movement from its turbulent infancy in the 20th century to the once unfathomable successes of today. The period piece tells the history of the gay rights movement, starting with the Stonewall Riots in 1969.

📺 Seasons & Episodes

Specials9 episodes
When We Rise: The People Behind the Story

1. When We Rise: The People Behind the Story

87 min

No description available.

Part I

2. Part I

42 min

1972: Three people—an Arizona peace activist named Cleve Jones, an African-American sailor Ken Jones in Vietnam, and a Boston women's activist Roma Guy—all move to San Francisco to join the nascent gay community.

Part II

3. Part II

42 min

Roma helps take a stand against the National Organization for Women's attempts to purge lesbians from their ranks. Ken comes to accept—and fight for—his sexuality. After struggling to find San Francisco less welcoming than he'd hoped, Cleve hears of a New Yorker, Harvey Milk, running for election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Part III

4. Part III

42 min

1978–79: Roma sees the establishment of The Women's Building. Harvey Milk runs for the Board of Supervisors against a backdrop of Anita Bryant's Moral Majority and John Briggs's statewide initiative to ban gay people and allies from working with children.

Part IV

5. Part IV

42 min

1981: A new disease, initially named gay-related immune deficiency, starts spreading among gay men and drug users in San Francisco. Roma and Diane start a family.

Part V

6. Part V

42 min

1992: A decade after the advent of the AIDS Crisis, Cleve (now played by Guy Pearce) unveils the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington, D.C., and visits ACT UP in New York as they fight for early clinical trials of new drugs. Ken (now played by Michael K. Williams) finds his life turned upside down when Richard dies of AIDS. Roma and Diane (now played by Mary-Louise Parker and Rachel Griffiths) work with Tom Ammiano to see Carole Migden elected to the Board of Supervisors—and find out he's the biological father of their daughter Annie.

Part VI

7. Part VI

42 min

1997: Ken relies on Cecilia Chung's support as he struggles with addiction at a VA hospital. Cleve visits the Human Rights Campaign in D.C., where Richard Socarides lobbies for Bill Clinton to do better than "don't ask, don't tell" and DOMA. Roma and Diane's daughter Annie struggles with her unconventional background. In Palm Springs, Cleve looks after the child of a drug-addicted neighbor. 2006: Cleve speaks to the interviewer we've seen throughout, against a backdrop of the murder of Matthew Shepard and George W. Bush's proposed Federal Marriage Amendment.

Part VII

8. Part VII

42 min

2008: As Barack Obama is elected president, California Proposition 8 revokes California's recently-acquired marriage equality, starting Cleve to help organise the National Equality March on Washington, D.C., and advocate for equal rights. Roma, Diane and Tom become grandparents and advocate for citywide universal healthcare in San Francisco. Ken is baptised, but finds some churches are less welcoming than others.

Part VIII

9. Part VIII

42 min

2009–13: Cleve takes the battle against Prop 8 through the federal courts all the way to the Supreme Court. Ken works with Cecilia Chung to get support for his church. Roma and Diane decide to get married if the Supreme Court allows it.

Season 14 episodes

Cast

Austin P. McKenzie

Austin P. McKenzie

Young Cleve Jones

Emily Skeggs

Emily Skeggs

Young Roma Guy

Jonathan Majors

Jonathan Majors

Young Ken Jones

Fiona Dourif

Fiona Dourif

Young Diane Jones

Rachel Griffiths

Rachel Griffiths

Diane Jones

Mary-Louise Parker

Mary-Louise Parker

Roma Guy

Guy Pearce

Guy Pearce

Cleve Jones

Michael Kenneth Williams

Michael Kenneth Williams

Ken Jones

Ivory Aquino

Ivory Aquino

Cecilia Chung

Debra Winger

Debra Winger

Elena Kagan

David Hyde Pierce

David Hyde Pierce

Dr. Jones

Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg

Pat Norman

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