It’s 1951, and workers at the Empire Zinc mine in Alba, New Mexico, have been striking for months. Among them is Ana Maria Garcia’s father, who says they may need to sell her vihuela to pay rent. But her vihuela was a gift from her recently deceased mother, and her dream is to be a corridista, a singer of Mexican ballads. As Ana Maria is drawn to the picket line, she is inspired to write a corrido about her mother and the other women of the mining community. An upcoming talent show may be Ana Maria’s chance to earn money for rent and save her vihuela—if she can give voice to the song of her heart. It’s the storytellers that preserve a nation’s history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events about people whose voices have been excluded, lost, or forgotten over time.

It’s 1893, and Lorraine Williams can’t wait to attend the Chicago World’s Fair and see her idol, the Black opera singer Sissieretta Jones. But when activist and writer Ida B. Wells urges Black Americans to boycott the fair, Lorraine’s father forbids Lorraine from going. After all, there is no exhibition about the progress that the Black community has made since Emancipation, and the fair has lacked Black representation since it was first being planned. But Lorraine will do anything to see Miss Jones and ensure other Black people can hear Miss Jones sing. What does progress look like if not Sissieretta Jones, who embodies everything Lorraine wants to be? It’s the storytellers that preserve a nation’s history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events about people whose voices have been excluded, lost, or forgotten over time.