Episode 4 of We're Here sees Bob the Drag Queen, Shangela, and Eureka visit the historic town of Selma, Alabama.
An important site in the history of the civil rights movement, the town was where the Selma to Montgomery marches began in 1965, and was also where Bloody Sunday took place on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
In the episode, Bob, Shangela and Eureka met with four women from the River Center for Humanity, Lynda Blackmon Lowery, Joyce O'Neal, JoAnne Bland, and Afriyie We-kandodis, activists who experienced Bloody Sunday first-hand.
They spoke to the trio about their experience of the event and the civil rights movement, and it was a poignant moment for Bob who broke down in tears while sharing how she felt the women had impacted her life as a Black American citizen.
Bob described the episode as "life-changing" in an interview with Newsweek ahead of the season premiere, saying filming in Selma was "wonderful".
"Well working with the foot soldiers in Selma, especially Ms Lowery, I absolutely love that lady and I'm still in contact with her, it was really life-changing for me," she explained.
"You're sitting across from someone whose actions have directly impacted you and your future, and your freedom that you have.
"I firmly believe what happened on Bloody Sunday that day on the Edmund Pettus Bridge is of direct correlation of my ability to even sit here with you and have this conversation.
"The short answer is it felt extremely profound to be part of such a wonderful experience."
In the episode, Bob worked with Akeelah, a transgender woman who wanted to share her experience and struggle to be accepted in order to help others who are going through the same thing.
Reflecting on their time together, Bob said: "I think for Season 2, me and Akeelah had a really strong bond.
"She really reminds me of Venus Extravaganza in the way she's such an optimist and a dreamer. I just really love getting to watch her, I can't wait for the world to see her and to love and appreciate her."
She went on to discuss how it felt to see Akeelah open up so much on the show, adding: "It was an absolute pleasure, I was very lucky to have a drag kid who was so open and willing to share her experience because it can help a lot of people.
"She was saying that she wanted to do it because she didn't want anyone else to go through what she went through as a trans woman in Selma, Alabama.
"That, I mean, talk about selfless! She's such a profound, epic, iconic person, and I cannot wait for the world to fall in love with her."
We're Here Season 2 airs Mondays on HBO and HBO Max at 9 pm ET.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Roxy Simons is a Newsweek TV and Film Reporter (SEO), based in London, U.K. Her focus is reporting on the ... Read more
