Browse Titles - 3 results
The Democratic Promise: Saul Alinsky and His Legacy
directed by Bruce Orenstein, fl. 1999 and Bob Hercules; produced by Bob Hercules and Bruce Orenstein, fl. 1999 (Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Media, 1999), 56 mins
This exceptional and compelling documentary, narrated by Alec Baldwin, examines the life and legacy of legendary community organizer Saul Alinsky. From the late 1930s until his death in 1972, Alinsky led the movement to empower disenfranchised communities through collective action. Today, hundreds of community org...
Sample
directed by Bruce Orenstein, fl. 1999 and Bob Hercules; produced by Bob Hercules and Bruce Orenstein, fl. 1999 (Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Media, 1999), 56 mins
Description
This exceptional and compelling documentary, narrated by Alec Baldwin, examines the life and legacy of legendary community organizer Saul Alinsky. From the late 1930s until his death in 1972, Alinsky led the movement to empower disenfranchised communities through collective action. Today, hundreds of community organizations nationwide have embraced Alinsky's vision and are using it to reshape America's body politic. In a larger sense, the film ex...
This exceptional and compelling documentary, narrated by Alec Baldwin, examines the life and legacy of legendary community organizer Saul Alinsky. From the late 1930s until his death in 1972, Alinsky led the movement to empower disenfranchised communities through collective action. Today, hundreds of community organizations nationwide have embraced Alinsky's vision and are using it to reshape America's body politic. In a larger sense, the film explores the restoration of American democracy through shared public participation in civic life -- a vital concern in an era of increased citizen alienation and political apathy, even among college students.The first half of the film focuses on Alinsky's organizing methods and is filled with a rich combination of archival film clips and photographs as well as eyewitness testimonials. It provides case studies of three key Alinsky organizations to show the development of his methods over time. The Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council in Chicago's stockyards neighborhood was the pioneering first organization, started by Alinsky in 1939. The Woodlawn Organization, in Chicago's predominantly African-American South Side, was founded in 1959 and won several landmark concessions in important battles with Mayor Richard Daley's powerful Democratic Party machine. In the mid-1960s, the FIGHT organization in Rochester, New York, took on the Eastman-Kodak company over racist hiring practices and won a series of impressive victories.These three organizations show how Alinsky's ideas, in turn, influenced the Civil Rights Movement, the farmworkers' struggle, and many Vietnam-era political protests.The second half of the film jumps forward to the late 1990s and examines two contemporary organizations that share Alinsky's enduring legacy. The East Brooklyn Congregations is shown struggling with various New York City administrations to fulfill its goal of building 1,200 low-income housing units in one of America's most blighted neighborhoods. In Dallas, members of Dallas Area Interfaith are shown lobbying state legislators in an effort to increase funding for an innovative public education program called the Alliance Schools Initiative."The Democratic Promise" will inspire discussion and analysis in a wide variety of courses in American history and American studies, sociology, urban studies, political science, and African American studies, among other disciplines. It was produced by Bob Hercules and Bruce Orenstein and is a presentation of the Independent Television Service.
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Field of Study
American History
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Bob Hercules, Bruce Orenstein, fl. 1999, Alec Baldwin, 1958-
Author / Creator
Bruce Orenstein, fl. 1999, Bob Hercules
Date Published / Released
1999
Publisher
Berkeley Media
Speaker / Narrator
Alec Baldwin, 1958-
Person Discussed
Saul David Alinsky, 1909-1972
Topic / Theme
Democracy, Social activism and activists, Associations and organizations
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1999 Berkeley Media
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Harry Hopkins: At FDR's Side
produced by Verne Newton, Educational Film Center (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 1992), 2 hours 7 mins
During the turbulent times of the Great Depression and World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt presided over great changes in America and the world - changes that would have been impossible without the efforts of one extraordinary man - FDR's friend and advisor, Harry Hopkins. The son of a harness maker from Iowa, and...
Sample
produced by Verne Newton, Educational Film Center (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 1992), 2 hours 7 mins
Description
During the turbulent times of the Great Depression and World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt presided over great changes in America and the world - changes that would have been impossible without the efforts of one extraordinary man - FDR's friend and advisor, Harry Hopkins. The son of a harness maker from Iowa, and for 20 years a social worker in New York, Hopkins was invited by Roosevelt to head the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the...
During the turbulent times of the Great Depression and World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt presided over great changes in America and the world - changes that would have been impossible without the efforts of one extraordinary man - FDR's friend and advisor, Harry Hopkins. The son of a harness maker from Iowa, and for 20 years a social worker in New York, Hopkins was invited by Roosevelt to head the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. Within four weeks, he had put four million people to work. He went on to help Roosevelt establish numerous federal programs that live on today. Despite failing health, he made his greatest impact during World War II. He was Roosevelt's personal envoy to Winston Churchill, executing the Lend-Lease program and helping the country mobilize for war. His unique relationship to Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin contributed to forging agreements at Teheran and Yalta. This award-winning film shows how one man's unshakable belief in America and in public service was so vital to his country. It is also a tale of grand adventure, of dangerous wartime missions executed at great risk. College Adult
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Field of Study
Politics & Current Affairs
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Verne Newton, Educational Film Center, Walter Cronkite, 1916-2009
Date Published / Released
1992
Publisher
Filmakers Library
Speaker / Narrator
Walter Cronkite, 1916-2009
Person Discussed
Harry Hopkins, 1890-1946, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1882-1945
Topic / Theme
Government aid, Heads of state, International relations, Political advice, History curriculums, Politics, New Deal, 1933-1938, World War II, 1939-1945, American History, Depression & World War II (1929–1945), 20th Century in World History (1914--2000)
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1992. Used by permission of Filmakers Library. All rights reserved.
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Ken Burns's America, Huey Long
written by Ken Burns, 1953-; directed by Ken Burns, 1953-; produced by Ken Burns, 1953-, in Ken Burns's America (Arlington, VA: Public Broadcasting Service, 2004), 1 hour 48 mins
He was a populist hero and a corrupt demagogue, hailed as a champion of the poor and reviled as a dictator. Louisiana’s Huey Long built his remarkable career as Governor and U.S. Senator on a platform of social reform and justice, all the while employing graft and corruption to get what he wanted. Long’s spell...
Sample
written by Ken Burns, 1953-; directed by Ken Burns, 1953-; produced by Ken Burns, 1953-, in Ken Burns's America (Arlington, VA: Public Broadcasting Service, 2004), 1 hour 48 mins
Description
He was a populist hero and a corrupt demagogue, hailed as a champion of the poor and reviled as a dictator. Louisiana’s Huey Long built his remarkable career as Governor and U.S. Senator on a platform of social reform and justice, all the while employing graft and corruption to get what he wanted. Long’s spellbinding personality and political machine might have taken him to the White House had he not been assassinated in 1935. This finely cra...
He was a populist hero and a corrupt demagogue, hailed as a champion of the poor and reviled as a dictator. Louisiana’s Huey Long built his remarkable career as Governor and U.S. Senator on a platform of social reform and justice, all the while employing graft and corruption to get what he wanted. Long’s spellbinding personality and political machine might have taken him to the White House had he not been assassinated in 1935. This finely crafted film by Ken Burns reveals a complex and comprehensive portrait of the man and the era, his politics and the power he so obsessively sought. Extensive archival footage and recollections by Louisianans who knew Long are juxtaposed with candid contemporary interviews with historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.; the late journalist I.F. Stone; and the late author Robert Penn Warren, whose magnificent novel All the King’s Men was inspired by the rise and fall of Huey Long.
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Field of Study
Politics & Current Affairs
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Ken Burns, 1953-, David McCullough, 1933-
Author / Creator
Ken Burns, 1953-
Date Published / Released
2004
Publisher
Public Broadcasting Service
Series
Ken Burns's America
Speaker / Narrator
David McCullough, 1933-
Person Discussed
Huey Pierce Long, Jr., 1893-1935
Topic / Theme
Political corruption, Politicians, Socialism, American History, Depression & World War II (1929–1945), 20th Century in World History (1914--2000)
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