02/16/2026
Speak Up America - A Nation at the Crossroads
Global ImageWorks is proud to announce the addition of Speak Up America to our archival collection. This ten-episode series offers strong stories, authentic voices, and well-shot footage of 1980 America — a nation confronting environmental cover-ups, economic anxiety, rising extremism, and deep distrust of its own institutions. For any project seeking to understand how the United States got to where it is today, this collection provides essential primary source material.
Explore an Episode-by-Episode Summary - https://www.globalimageworks.com/speak-up-america-episode-guide
The collection spans:
Political and Social Crises Iranian hostage families, the Love Canal disaster, and unemployed Detroit auto workers as the Rust Belt collapsed.
Controversial Figures Confrontations with atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair and K*K Grand Dragon Tom Metzger, plus debates on gun control and ma*****na legalization.
Military and Veterans Troops at the Korean DMZ, women expelled from the Navy on accusations of lesbianism, and Vietnam veterans suffering the effects of Agent Orange.
Cultural Flashpoints Contrasting interviews with adult film figures Marilyn Chambers and Linda Lovelace, the Unification Church, and Holocaust survivors sharing their warnings.
Activism Paul Watson's campaigns to save baby harp seals, the Guardian Angels patrolling NYC subways, and Senator Proxmire's Golden Fleece Awards.
Sports A young Magic Johnson at his basketball clinic and Muhammad Ali's final comeback against Larry Holmes.
Produced by George Schlatter of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and Real People fame, Speak Up America joins Real People and Look At Us in a trilogy of Schlatter series that captured the pivotal moment when television discovered the most compelling stories were the real ones.
View all episodes - https://www.globalimageworks.com/library?q=11317*&x=0&y=0&page=
To license footage from Speak Up America or other footage, photos, and audio from the Global ImageWorks collection, please contact us. - https://www.globalimageworks.com/contact